Poems (Duer)/The Kingdom of the Present
THE KINGDOM OF THE PRESENT.
Live for to-day, that sows and shall not reap;
Live for to-day, that reaps and has not sown;
Raise to thy lips the cup of life, drink deep:
Bordered and bounded by the sea of sleep,
The kingdom of the present is thine own.
Live for to-day, that reaps and has not sown;
Raise to thy lips the cup of life, drink deep:
Bordered and bounded by the sea of sleep,
The kingdom of the present is thine own.
Through yesterday, perhaps, sad echoes rise
From shadowy pasts—hold, then, to-day more dear.
Rest and content thee in its sunny skies,
And to the future look with passionless eyes,
That are below all hope, above all fear.
From shadowy pasts—hold, then, to-day more dear.
Rest and content thee in its sunny skies,
And to the future look with passionless eyes,
That are below all hope, above all fear.
To-day I reign a Queen and thou a King—
To-morrow, food for worms! but now no worse
Because Time slips us off his golden ring,
Because to-morrow Death may break the string
That binds the unit to the universe.
To-morrow, food for worms! but now no worse
Because Time slips us off his golden ring,
Because to-morrow Death may break the string
That binds the unit to the universe.
C. D.