 | Poems of "Frank Forester" (Henry William Herbert) |  |
247
SONNET: REFLECTIONS ON THE DEPARTED YEAR.
Hark! 'Tis the midnight hour: it tolls the knellOf a departed year. One unit more
Is added to eternity gone by. Full well
It points to loss which time can ne'er restore.
As fades the hours, so human life flies fast;
Of each, the seasons occupy their turn:
They spring, advance; they mellow, droop, are past,—
And leave survivors but their fate to mourn.
Yet are they eloquent: e'en from their grave
A lesson of importance they impart—
To seize the passing hour; prepare the heart
The dreadful curse to shun, the bliss to save.
Oh! let us then be wise: so shall the time,
Still flitting, work us good, and snatch from vice or crime.
| Poems of "Frank Forester" (Henry William Herbert) | |