WAS...

The wave hath burst white upon the beach.
        Speak no more of it.
The leaf hath rotted. No more can it teach
        But a moral for joy unfit.

The day hath ended. Who speaks of its morn
        But must think of its night?
The old corpse is rotting. That it was once born
        Seems a lie to the sight.

The heart hath broken; no more can it throb
        With deep love or care.
Its voice hath vanished; no more can it sob
        In its deep despair.

Thus all things do crumble and all doth pass,
        But not always forgot:
For we feel it deep, and in the heart «was»
        Meaneth but «is nob».