Poem by Richard Chenevix Trench

To the Same (We live not in our moments or our years)

We live not in our moments or our years—
The Present we fling from us like the rind
Of some sweet Future, which we after find
Bitter to taste, or bind that in with fears,
And water it beforehand with our tears—
Vain tears for that which never may arrive:
Meanwhile the joy whereby we ought to live
Neglected or unheeded disappears.
Wiser it were to welcome and make ours
Whate’er of good, though small, the present brings—
Kind greetings, sunshine, song of birds and flowers,
With a child’s pure delight in little things;
And of the griefs unborn to rest secure,
Knowing that mercy ever will endure.

1. England (Peace, Freedom, Happiness, have loved to wait)
2. England (We look for, and have promise to behold)
3. To England
4. On the Results of the Last French Revolution
5. To the Same (If sorrow came not near us, and the lore)

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