 | Poems of Freneau |  |
The VANITY OF EXISTENCE.
To Thyrsis
IN youth, gay scenes attract our eyes,
And not suspecting their decay
Life's flowery fields before us rise,
Regardless of its winter day.
And not suspecting their decay
Life's flowery fields before us rise,
Regardless of its winter day.
But vain pursuits, and joys as vain,
Convince us life is but a dream.
Death is to wake, to rise again
To that true life you best esteem.
Convince us life is but a dream.
Death is to wake, to rise again
To that true life you best esteem.
So nightly on some shallow tide,
Oft have I seen a splendid show;
Reflected stars on either side,
And glittering moons were seen below.
Oft have I seen a splendid show;
Reflected stars on either side,
And glittering moons were seen below.
But when the tide had ebbed away,
The scene fantastic with it fled,
A bank of mud around me lay,
And sea-weed on the river's bed.
The scene fantastic with it fled,
A bank of mud around me lay,
And sea-weed on the river's bed.
1781
| Poems of Freneau | |