TIME speeds away, away, away.
Another hour, another day,
Another month, another year,
Drops from us like the leaflet sear,
Drops like the lifeblood from the heart.
The rose bloom from the cheeks depart,
The tresses from the temples fall,
The eyes grow dim and strange to all. Time speeds away, away, away.
Like torrents in a stormy day,
He undermines the stately tower,
Uproots the trees, and blasts the flower.
He tears from our distracted breast
The friends we love, the friends that blessed,
And leaves us weeping on the shore,
To which they can return no more. Time speeds away, away, away.
No eagle through the sky of day,
No winds along the hills, can flee
So swiftly or so smooth as he.
Like fiery steeds, from stage to stage,
He bears us on from youth to age,
Then plunges in the shoreless sea
Of fathomless eternity.