European Elegies/Winter/The clock
42.THE CLOCK
Clock! dull, dread, passionless divinity,
Whose finger writes “Remember” with a threat,
In thy pale heart are quivering sorrows set
Like arrows that in mortal quarries lie.
Whose finger writes “Remember” with a threat,
In thy pale heart are quivering sorrows set
Like arrows that in mortal quarries lie.
For thee, the shadowy joys in pleasure’s mime
Dance swiftly from the stage like choral sprites;
Each moment slays a share of the delights
Granted each man for his appointed time.
Dance swiftly from the stage like choral sprites;
Each moment slays a share of the delights
Granted each man for his appointed time.
Three thousand and six hundred times each hour
Thy tickings lisp “Remember”—Insectlike,
The present’s buzzing voice says: Still I strike
And with my unclean beak your days devour.
Thy tickings lisp “Remember”—Insectlike,
The present’s buzzing voice says: Still I strike
And with my unclean beak your days devour.
Remember time insatiate casts his die
And wins without deceit or word gainsaid.
“Remember!” The day wanes. The shadows spread.
The thirsty gulf still gapes. The glass runs dry.
And wins without deceit or word gainsaid.
“Remember!” The day wanes. The shadows spread.
The thirsty gulf still gapes. The glass runs dry.
From the French of Charles Baudelaire.