Moral Pieces, in Prose and Verse/Procrastination
PROCRASTINATION.
"LIVE well to day"—a spirit cries,
To day be good—to day be wise;
But something inward seems to tell,
Another day will do as well.
"Now is the time the accepted time,"
Speaks audibly a page sublime;
Another creed is heard to say,
Wait till a more convenient day.
Enquir'st thou which of these is truth?
Which to obey—unwary youth?
Go—ask of nature in thy walk.
The rose-bud, dying on its stalk,
The fading grass—the withering tree,
Are emblems of thy fate and thee.
Ask of the stream or torrent hoarse,
To linger in its wonted course;
Ask of the bird to stay its flight,
Bid the pale moon prolong her light,
And listen to their answering tone,
"A future day is not our own."
And is it thine? Oh, spurn the cheat,
Resist the smooth—the dire deceit;
Lest, while thou dream'st of long delay,
Thine hour of action pass away,
Thy prospects fade—thy joys be o'er,
Thy time of hope return no more.
Ask of the Roman—pale with fear,
While judgment thunder'd in his ear,
Who to the warning friend could say
"I'll hear thee on a future day;"
Ask him if Time confirm'd his claim,
Or that good season ever came?
Go, ask of him, whom demons urge
To leap this dark world's dizzy verge,
Who on his thorny pillow pain'd,
Sees no reprieve or pardon gain'd.
Oh! ask that dying man the price
Of one short hour of thoughtless vice;
What would he pay—what treasure give,
For one brief season more to live,
One hour to spend in anxious care,
In duty, penitence, and prayer!
Ask of the grave; a voice replies—
"No knowledge, wisdom, or device,"
Beauty, or strength possess the gloom
Where thou shalt find thy narrow home.
Delay no longer; lest thy breath
Should quiver in the sigh of death;
But inward turn thy thoughtful view,
And what thy spirit dictates—do.