Sirimaṇḍa

Rain soddens what’s covered
& doesn’t sodden what’s exposed.
So open up what’s covered up,
so that it won’t get soddened by the rain.

Attacked by death
is the world,
surrounded by aging,
beset by the arrow of craving,
always obscured by desire.

Attacked by death
is the world,
& encircled by aging,
constantly beaten, with no shelter,
like a thief
sentenced to punishment.

They encroach like masses of flame,
these three:
death, aging, & illness.
There’s no strength to confront them,
no speed to run away.

Make the day not-in-vain,
a little or a lot.
However much
the day passes,
that’s how much less
is life.

Your last day approaches.
This isn’t your time
to be heedless.

This reflection in the Pāli Canon is from, Sirimaṇḍa Sutta, Khuddaka Nikāya Theragāthā (6:13), translated from Pali by Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu.