Poems, Chiefly Lyrical/All things will die
ALL THINGS WILL DIE.
Clearly the blue river chimes in its flowing Under my eye; Warmly and broadly the southwinds are blowing Over the sky. One after another the white clouds are fleeting; Every heart this Maymorning in joyance is beating Full merrily; Yet all things must die. The stream will cease to flow; The wind will cease to blow; The clouds will cease to fleet;The heart will cease to beat;For all things must die.
All things must die.Spring will come never more.Oh! vanity!Death waits at the door.See our friends are all forsakingThe wine and the merrymaking.We are called—we must go.Laid low, very low,In the dark we must lie.The merry glees are still;The voice of the birdShall no more be heard,Nor the wind on the hill.Oh! misery!Hark! death is callingWhile I speak to ye.The jaw is falling, The red cheek paling,The strong limbs failing;Ice with the warm blood mixing;The eyeballs fixing.Nine times goes the passing bell:Ye merry souls farewell.
The old earthHad a birth,As all men knowLong ago.And the old earth must die.So let the warm winds range,And the blue wave beat the shore;For even and mornYe will never seeThrough eternity.All things were born.Ye will come never more,For all things must die.