Thomas Moore (Томас Мур)

From “Irish Melodies”. 101. Quick! We Have But a Second

QUICK! we have but a second,
      Fill round the cup while you may;
For time, the churl, hath beckon’d,
      And we must away, away!
Grasp the pleasure that’s flying,
      For oh, not Orpheus’ strain
Could keep sweet hours from dying,
      Or charm them to life again.
Then, quick! we have but a second,
      Fill round the cup while you may!
For Time, the churl hath beckon’d,
      And we must away, away.

See the glass, how it flushes,
      Like some young Hebe’s lip,
And half meets thine, and blushes
      That thou shouldst delay to sip.
Shame, oh shame unto thee,
      If ever thou see’st that day,
When a cup or lip shall woo thee,
      And turn untouch’d away!
Then, quick! we have but a second,
      Fill round, fill round while you may,
For Time, the churl, hath beckon’d,
      And we must away, away!

Thomas Moore’s other poems:

  1. From “The Odes of Anacreon”. Ode 57
  2. From “The Odes of Anacreon”. Ode 59
  3. From “The Odes of Anacreon”. Ode 64
  4. From “The Odes of Anacreon”. Ode 62
  5. From “The Odes of Anacreon”. Ode 61




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