The lapse of time and rivers is the same,
Both speed their journey with a restless stream;
The silent pace, with which they steal away,
No wealth can bribe, no prayers persuade to stay;
Alike irrevocable both when past,
And a wide ocean swallows both at last.
Though each resemble each in every part,
A difference strikes at length the musing heart;
Streams never flow in vain; where streams abound,
How laughs the land with various plenty crown’d!
But time, that should enrich the nobler mind,
Neglected, leaves a dreary waste behind.
(William Cowper)
More Poetry from William Cowper:
William Cowper Poems based on Topics: Mind, Past, Time, Money & Wealth- Adam: A Sacred Drama. Act 1. (William Cowper Poems)
- Adam: A Sacred Drama. Act 3. (William Cowper Poems)
- A Poetical Epistle To Lady Austen (William Cowper Poems)
- Addressed To Miss Macartney, Afterwards Mrs. Greville, On Reading The Prayer For Indifference (William Cowper Poems)
- A Tale. June 1793 (William Cowper Poems)
- A Figurative Description Of The Procedure Of Divine Love (William Cowper Poems)