Say, art thou angry? words unkind <br />Have fallen upon thine ear, <br />Thy spirit hath been wounded too <br />By mocking jest or sneer, <br />But mind it not—relax at once <br />Thine o’ercast and troubled brow— <br />What will be taunt or jest to thee <br />In a few short years from now? <br /> <br />Or, perhaps thou mayst be pining <br />Beneath some bitter grief, <br />From whose pangs in vain thou seekest <br />Or respite or relief; <br />Fret not ’neath Heav’n’s chastening rod <br />But submissive to it bow; <br />Thy griefs will all be hushed to rest <br />In a few short years from now. <br /> <br />Art toiling for some worldly aim, <br />Or for some golden prize, <br />Devoting to that glitt’ring goal <br />Thy thoughts, thy smiles, thy sighs? <br />Ah! rest thee from the idle chase, <br />With no bliss can it endow; <br />Of fame or gold, what will be thine <br />In a few short years from now? <br /> <br />It may be pleasure’s roseate dreams <br />Possess thy wayward heart, <br />Its gilded gauds for better things <br />Leaving alas! no part; <br />Ah! cast away the gems and flowers <br />That bind thy thoughtless brow, <br />Where will their gleam or brightness be <br />In a few short years from now? <br /> <br />The good thou may’st on earth have done, <br />Love to a brother shown— <br />Pardon to foe—alms unto need— <br />Kind word or gentle tone; <br />The treasures thus laid up in Heav’n <br />By the good on earth done now, <br />These will alone remain to thee, <br />In a few short years from now.<br /><br />Rosanna Eleanor Leprohon<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/a-few-short-years-from-now/
