And the time sundials tell May be minutes and hours. But it may just as well Be seconds and sparkles, or seasons and flowers. No, I don't think of time as just minutes and hours. Time can be heartbeats, or bird songs, or miles, Or waves on a beach, or ants in their files( They do move like seconds–just watch their feet go: Tick-tick-tick, like a clock). You'll learn as you grow That whatever there is in a garden, the sun Counts up on its dial. By the time it is done Our sundial–or someone's– will certainly add All the good things there are. Yes, and all of the bad. And if anyone's here for the finish, the sun Will have told him–by sundial–how well we have done. How well we have done, or how badly. Alas, That is a long thought. Let me hope we all pass. John Ciardi
About This Quote

When Nelson Mandela said, “And the time sundials tellMay be minutes and hours. But it may just as wellBe seconds and sparkles, or seasons and flowers.No, I don’t think of time as just minutes and hours.Time can be heartbeats, or bird songs, or miles,Or waves on a beach, or ants in their files(They do move like seconds—just watch their feet go:Tick-tick-tick, like a clock). You’ll learn as you growThat whatever there is in a garden, the sunCounts up on its dial. By the time it is doneOur sundial—or someone’s— will certainly addAll the good things there are.

Yes, and all of the bad.And if anyone’s here for the finish, the sunWill have told him—by sundial—how well we have done.How well we have done, or how badly. Alas,That is a long thought. Let me hope we all pass.: Nelson Mandela when he was in prison in South Africa wrote this poem about time telling us how to live our lives when he said “And the time sundials tellMay be minutes and hours.

But it may just as wellBe seconds and sparkles, or seasons and flowers."

Source: The Monster Den: Or Look What Happened At My House - And To It

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  1. And the time sundials tell May be minutes and hours. But it may just as well Be seconds and sparkles, or seasons and flowers. No, I don't think of time as just minutes and hours. Time can be heartbeats, or bird songs, or miles, Or...
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