Another Year

Another Year

Another year, another year,

O! who shall see another year?
Shalt thou, old man, of hoary head,
Of eye-sight dim, and feeble tread?
Expect it not. Time, pain and grief,
Have made thee like an autumn leaf,
Ready, by blast or self-decay,
From its slight hold to drop away -
And some sad morn may gild thy bier.

Another year, another year,
O! who shall see another year?
Shall you, ye young - or you, ye fair?
Ah! the presumptuous thought forbear.
Within this vineyard's peaceful bounds,
Come, pause and ponder o'er the mounds!
Here beauty sleeps - that verdant length
Of grave contains what once was strength;
The child - the boy - the man are here.

Another year, another year,
O! who shall see another year?
Shall I, whose burning thirst for fame
No earthly power can quench or tame?
Alas, that burning thirst may soon
Be over and beneath the moon -
All my fine visions, fancy wrought,
And all this vortex whirl of thought -
Forever cease and disappear,
Ere dawns on earth another year!

Unattributed

New Series 1:50, p. 4

1841.02.13