European Elegies/Winter/The calendar
41.THE CALENDAR
Deciduous as life is, day by day
The dead leaves flutter from the calendar;
And drop by drop, fading in deeps afar,
Time drips into eternity away.
The dead leaves flutter from the calendar;
And drop by drop, fading in deeps afar,
Time drips into eternity away.
Swiftly I pass upon my pilgrimage,
Leaving the wanton fields of youth behind,
And still lamenting each new day to find
More evil, darker grief, and harsher age.
Leaving the wanton fields of youth behind,
And still lamenting each new day to find
More evil, darker grief, and harsher age.
Quietly, quietly, the cold leaves fall
From the dark trunk of time, that darker grows
Against the grey brow of senility.
From the dark trunk of time, that darker grows
Against the grey brow of senility.
Leaf after leaf, the fluttering funeral
Of days and deeds into the darkness goes,
And nought on earth can bring them back to me.
Of days and deeds into the darkness goes,
And nought on earth can bring them back to me.
From the Portuguese of Conde do Casal Ribeiro.