See'st thou a joy of happy days
Flit from thy love and yearning,
'Tis well into a stream to gaze,
Where all goes past returning.
To read the lesson written here;
No boon that mortals cherish,
No love, no friendship, howe'er dear,
But on time's tide shall perish.
Look steadfastly, and surely know,
Bereft one, 'mid thy weeping,
That howe'er fast thy tears may flow,
Faster the tide is sweeping.
Learn that oblivion follows grief,
For lost days, friend or lover;
That life, like joy and woe is brief,—
It too is passing over.
