Alone I walked the ocean strand:
A pearly shell was in my hand;
I stooped and wrote upon the sand
My name, the year, the day.
As onward from the spot I passed,
One lingering look behind I cast;
A wave came rolling high and fast
And washed my lines away.
And so, methought, 'twill shortly be
With every mark on earth from me.
The above pretty lines are only superficially true. No man can live on
earth without leaving, "footprints on the sands of time," which will
influence those who come after him for good or evil.
1692