But, like the skeleton at the feast, That warning timepiece never ceased, · "Forever never! Never forever!" There groups of merry children played, And affluence of love and time! Even as a miser counts his gold, Those hours the ancient timepiece told, "Forever - never! From that chamber, clothed in white, The bride came forth on her wedding night; There, in that silent room below, The dead lay in his shroud of snow; 879201A And in the hush that followed the prayer, Was heard the old clock on the stair, "Forever never! Never-forever!" - All are scattered now and fled, The ancient timepiece makes reply, — Never-forever!" Never here, forever there, Where all parting, pain, and care, THE ARROW AND THE SONG. I SHOT an arrow into the air, I breathed a song into the air, It fell to earth, I knew not where ; For who has sight so keen and strong, That it can follow the flight of song? |