European Elegies/Winter/The calendar

by Condo do Casal Ribeiro

41.THE CALENDAR

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Deciduous as life is, day by dayThe dead leaves flutter from the calendar;And drop by drop, fading in deeps afar,Time drips into eternity away.

Swiftly I pass upon my pilgrimage,Leaving the wanton fields of youth behind,And still lamenting each new day to findMore evil, darker grief, and harsher age.

Quietly, quietly, the cold leaves fallFrom the dark trunk of time, that darker growsAgainst the grey brow of senility.

Leaf after leaf, the fluttering funeralOf days and deeds into the darkness goes,And nought on earth can bring them back to me.

From the Portuguese of Conde do Casal Ribeiro.