I

Quickly and pleasantly the seasons blow

Over the meadows of eternity,

As wave on wave the pulsings of the sea

Merge and are lost, each in the other's flow.

Time is no lover; it is only he

That is the one unconquerable foe,

He is the sudden tempest none can know,

Winged with swift winds the none may hope to flee.

Fair child of loveliness, these endless fears

Are nought to us; let us be gods of stone,

And set our images beyond the years

On some high mount where we can be alone.

And thou shalt ever be as now thou art,

And I shall watch thee with untroubled heart.