Time How Short
John Newton 1725 (Wapping, London) – 1807 (London)
Time, with an unwearied hand,
Pushes round the seasons past,
And in life's frail glass, the sand
Sinks apace, not long to last:
Many, well as you or I,
Who last year assembled thus;
In their silent graves now lie,
Graves will open soon for us!
Daily sin, and care, and strife,
While the Lord prolongs our breath,
Make it but a dying life,
Or a kind of living death:
Wretched they, and most forlorn,
Who no better portion know;
Better ne'er to have been born,
Than to have our all below.
When constrained to go alone,
Leaving all you love behind;
Ent'ring on a world unknown,
What will then support your mind?
When the Lord his summons sends,
Earthly comforts lose their pow'r;
Honours, riches, kindred, friends,
Cannot cheer a dying hour.
Happy souls who fear the Lord
Time is not too swift for you;
When your Saviour gives the word,
Glad you'll bid the world adieu:
Then he'll wipe away your tears,
Near himself appoint your place;
Swifter fly, ye rolling years,
Lord, we long to see thy face.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 56 sec read
- 71 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABABCDCD EFEFGHGH IJIJKXKX XLXLXMXM |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 974 |
Words | 183 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8, 8 |
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"Time How Short" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 6 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/24047/time-how-short>.
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