To the Sun-Dial
To the Sun-Dial
Original Text
Poems of Religion and Society (Auburn:
Derby and Miller, 1850): 38. Internet Archive
1Thou silent herald of Time's silent flight!
2 Say, could'st thou speak, what warning voice were thine?
3 Shade, who canst only show how others shine!
4Dark, sullen witness of resplendent light
5In day's broad glare, and when the moontide bright
6 Of laughing fortune sheds the ray divine,
7 Thy ready favors cheer us--but decline
8The clouds of morning and the gloom of night.
9Yet are thy counsels faithful, just, and wise;
10 They bid us seize the moments as they pass--
11Snatch the retrieveless sunbeam as it flies,
12 Nor lose one sand of life's revolving glass--
13Aspiring still, with energy sublime,
14By virtuous deeds to give eternity to Time.
RPO poem Editors
Ian Lancashire / Sharine Leung
RPO Edition
2012
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