Cities and Thrones and Powers, Stand in Time's eye, Almost as long as flowers, Which daily die: But, as new buds put forth To glad new men, Out of the spent and unconsidered Earth, The Cities rise again.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Cities and powers rise and fall like flowers, only to be replaced.
- In plain terms
- Empires last a while then die, but new ones come later.
- What can you take from it?
- Human institutions are temporary; expect them to cycle.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- What outlasts power?
- Why do empires fall?
Another view
It implies a natural order that ignores human agency in collapse.
More from Rudyard Kipling
She has no strong white arms to fold you, But the ten-times-fingering weed to hold you - Out on the rocks where the tide has rolled you.
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