¹ The words of the Teacher, ^[a] son of David, king in Jerusalem:

 ² "Meaningless! Meaningless!"
       says the Teacher.
       "Utterly meaningless!
       Everything is meaningless."

 ³ What does man gain from all his labor
       at which he toils under the sun?

 ⁴ Generations come and generations go,
       but the earth remains forever.

 ⁵ The sun rises and the sun sets,
       and hurries back to where it rises.

 ⁶ The wind blows to the south
       and turns to the north;
       round and round it goes,
       ever returning on its course.

 ⁷ All streams flow into the sea,
       yet the sea is never full.
       To the place the streams come from,
       there they return again.

 ⁸ All things are wearisome,
       more than one can say.
       The eye never has enough of seeing,
       nor the ear its fill of hearing.

 ⁹ What has been will be again,
       what has been done will be done again;
       there is nothing new under the sun.

 ¹⁰ Is there anything of which one can say,
       "Look! This is something new"?
       It was here already, long ago;
       it was here before our time.

 ¹¹ There is no remembrance of men of old,
       and even those who are yet to come
       will not be remembered
       by those who follow.

.......

.......

¹ Remember your Creator
       in the days of your youth,
       before the days of trouble come
       and the years approach when you will say,
       "I find no pleasure in them"-

 ² before the sun and the light
       and the moon and the stars grow dark,
       and the clouds return after the rain;

 ³ when the keepers of the house tremble,
       and the strong men stoop,
       when the grinders cease because they are few,
       and those looking through the windows grow dim;

 ⁴ when the doors to the street are closed
       and the sound of grinding fades;
       when men rise up at the sound of birds,
       but all their songs grow faint;

 ⁵ when men are afraid of heights
       and of dangers in the streets;
       when the almond tree blossoms
       and the grasshopper drags himself along
       and desire no longer is stirred.

       Then man goes to his eternal home

       and mourners go about the streets.

 ⁶ Remember him—before the silver cord is severed,
       or the golden bowl is broken;
       before the pitcher is shattered at the spring,
       or the wheel broken at the well,

 ⁷ and the dust returns to the ground it came from,
       and the spirit returns to God who gave it.

 ⁸ "Meaningless! Meaningless!" says the Teacher. ^[a]

(Ecclesiastes)

Rhode Island beach winter 2008

                               Rhode Island Beach winter 2008