And the days are not full enough
And the nights are not full enough
And life slips by like a field mouse,
Not shaking the grass.

--Ezra Pound


I'm hesitant to supply any commentary or context here; the beauty of the poem lies in its simplicity and quiet. But . . .

Pound's references are primarily the haiku and the koan, both of which he was certainly familiar with from years of study of Asian cultures. Li Po is also a strong influence.

The morbid tone is not exclusively Asian; compare it to a traditional English verse that appears on headstones in that country:

As I was
so are ye.
As I am so shall
ye be. Thy
life a floure
thy breth a blast

It's hardly a clean match, but the same sense of inevitability runs through both.