Classic Poem

O sing not of the past
For sorrow claims the lay
Hopes like the sun are over cast
& joys have dyed away
No art could check their speedy wings
No wishes make them stay
Then who can smile oer ruined things
Or sing in their decay

O sing not of the past
A sad & setting sun
The smile it left with hope at last
Was sorrows soon as won
Twas but a moments guest
To mourn for ere twas sung
As fond bird leaves — & seeks her nest
When hawks have stole her young

O sing not of the past
Leave vanished joys alone
My heart with ills is overcast
& cold as any stone
Tis like a home for ever left
The image of a fading thing
Tis like a grief of hope bereft
& sighs the notes to sing

O sing not of the past
Hopes chair is set aside
The goblet it is broke at last
Ere friendships lips are dried
That drank their bumpers unto health
Alas that glass should be
The emblem of joys brittle wealth
Bequeathed to more then me

O sing not of the past
What hath the past to sing
But hopes for ever over cast
& winters without spring
The time that once were young & gay
Is now a withered thing
& this is all that once was May
What hath the past to sing