Thou silent herald of Time's silent flight! <br />Say, could'st thou speak, what warning voice were thine? <br />Shade, who canst only show how others shine! <br />Dark, sullen witness of resplendent light <br />In day's broad glare, and when the noontide bright <br />Of laughing fortune sheds the ray divine, <br />Thy ready favors cheer us-but decline <br />The clouds of morning and the gloom of night. <br />Yet are thy counsels faithful, just, and wise; <br />They bid us seize the moments as they pass- <br />Snatch the retrieveless sunbeam as it flies, <br />Nor lose one sand of life's revolving glass- <br />Aspiring still, with energy sublime, <br />By virtuous deeds to give eternity to Time.<br /><br />John Quincy Adams<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/to-the-sun-dial/
