Idler's Song

I sit in the twilight dim
At the close of an idle day,
And I list to the soft sweet hymn,
That rises far away,
And dies on the evening air.
Oh, all day long,
They sing their song,
Who toil in the valley there.

But never a song sing I,
Sitting with folded hands,
The hours pass me by -
Dropping their golden sands -
And I list, from day to day,
To the 'tick, tick, tock'
Of the old brown clock,
Ticking my life away.

And I see the twilight fade,
And I see the night come on,
And then, in the gloom and shade,
I weep for the day that's gone -
Weep and wail in pain,
For the misspent day
That has flown away,
And will not come again.

Another morning beams,
And I forget the last,
And I sit in idle dreams
Till the day over - past.
Oh, the toiler's heart is glad!
When the day is gone
And the night comes on,
But mine is sore and sad.

For I dare not look behind!
No shining, golden sheaves
Can I ever hope to find:
Nothing but withered leaves.
Ah! dreams are very sweet!
But will not please
If only these
I lay at the Master's feet.

And what will the Master say
To dreams and nothing more?
Oh, idler, all the day!
Think, ere thy life is o'er!
And when the day grows late,
Oh, soul of sin!
Will He let you in,
There at the pearly gate?

Oh, idle heart, beware!
On, to the field of strife!
On, to the valley there!
And live a useful life!
Up, do not wait a day!
For the old brown clock,
With its 'tick, tick, tock, '
Is ticking your life away.

Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Vous avez aimé cette poésie ? faites la connaître !

Partager

Lien permanent Idler's Song

Traduction(s) Idler's Song (english page)

Mots-clefs :

D'autres poésies de Ella Wheeler Wilcox

"It Might Have Been"

We will be what we could be. Do not say,
"It might have...

lire la suite de la poésie : "It Might Have Been"
mots clefs :

A Baby In The House

I knew that a baby was hid in that house,
Though I saw...

lire la suite de la poésie : A Baby In The House
mots clefs :

A Fallen Leaf

A trusting little leaf of green,
A bold audacious frost;...

lire la suite de la poésie : A Fallen Leaf
mots clefs :

A Fatal Impress

A little leaf just in the forest's edge,
All summer long,...

lire la suite de la poésie : A Fatal Impress
mots clefs :

A Golden Day

The subtle beauty of this day
Hangs o'er me like a fairy...

lire la suite de la poésie : A Golden Day
mots clefs :

A Grey Mood

As we hurry away to the end, my friend,
Of this sad...

lire la suite de la poésie : A Grey Mood
mots clefs :

A Holiday

The Wife
The house is like a garden,
The children...

lire la suite de la poésie : A Holiday
mots clefs :

A Leaf

Somebody said, in the crowd, last eve,
That you were...

lire la suite de la poésie : A Leaf
mots clefs :

A Lovers' Quarrel

We two were lovers, the Sea and I;
We plighted our troth...

lire la suite de la poésie : A Lovers' Quarrel
mots clefs :

A Maiden To Her Mirror

He said he loved me! Then he called my hair
Silk threads...

lire la suite de la poésie : A Maiden To Her Mirror
mots clefs :

Précédentes poésies

Women

My three sisters are sitting
on rocks of black...

lire la suite de la poésie : Women
mots clefs :

Victory

Something spreading underground won't speak to us
under...

lire la suite de la poésie : Victory
mots clefs :

Two Songs

1.

Sex, as they harshly call it,
I fell into...

lire la suite de la poésie : Two Songs
mots clefs :

Stepping Backward

Good-by to you whom I shall see tomorrow,
Next year and...

lire la suite de la poésie : Stepping Backward
mots clefs :

Snapshots of a Daughter-in-Law

1

You, once a belle in Shreveport,
with...

lire la suite de la poésie : Snapshots of a Daughter-in-Law
mots clefs :