“A man who lived by digging graves survived
To ripe old age. A neighbour said: "You've thrived
For years, digging away in one routine —
Tell us the strangest thing you've ever seen."
He said: "All things considered, what's most strange
Is that for seventy years without a change
That dog, my Self, has seen me digging graves,
Yet neither dies, nor alters, nor behaves!”