Horace: Book I, Ode 11 <br /> <br />"Tu ne quaesieris--scire nefas <br />--quem mihi; quem tibi--" <br /> <br />AD LEUCONOEN <br /> <br /> <br />Nay querry not, Leuconoë, the finish of the fable; <br />Eliminate the worry as to what the years may hoard! <br />You only waste your time upon the Babylonian Table-- <br />(Slang for the ouija board). <br /> <br />And as to whether Jupiter, the final, unsurpassed one, <br />May add a lot of winters to our portion here below, <br />Or this impinging season is to be our very last one-- <br />Really, I'd hate to know. <br /> <br />Apply yourself to wisdom! Sweep the floor and wash the dishes, <br />Nor dream about the things you'll do in 1928! <br />My counsel is to cease to sit and yearn about your wishes, <br />Cursing the throws of fate. <br /> <br />My! how I have been chattering on matters sad and pleasant! <br />(Endure with me a moment while I polish off a rhyme). <br />If I were you, I think, I'd bother only with the present-- <br />Now is the only time.<br /><br />Franklin P. Adams<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/present-imperative/
