They are not long, the weeping and the laughter,
Love and desire and hate:
I think they have no portion in us after
We pass the gate.
They are not long, the days of wine and roses:
Out of a misty dream
Our path emerges for a while, then closes
Within a dream.
The title is from an ode by Horace:
“The brief sum of life denies us the hope of enduring long.”
first published in The Poems and Prose of Ernest Dowson (1900)
ReplyDeletefrom the Harper's magazine rss feed: link. They're always posting interesting quotes w/ cool art.