Time no Enemy

Lillie! though thy girlhood flies
     As the seasons come and go,
Pluck their meaning, and be wise;
     Time was never Wisdom’s foe.

Catch the bloom of every day,
     Winter’s white and summer’s glow.
Nursing good to better aye: —
     Time was never Virtue’s foe.

Seeds of truth and noble worth
     In thy spring-time plant and sow,
To make glad one spot of earth:
     Time was ne’er the helper’s foe.

Give no tears to vain regret,
     Waste no sign for hours that go,
Suns that rose red redly set:
     Trust, and time is not your foe.

Busy hand and busy thought,
     Hearts that feel for human woe,
Ever riper joys have brought:
     Time is not the true heart’s foe.

Idle brain and selfish hand,
     Hollow heart and longings low,
Reap their scattered desert sand:
     Time is only Folly’s foe.