For life and death to me are so akin,
So aptly one suggests the other's being;
So quickly treads behind existence fleeing
The dark pursuer, sure at last to win;
That when life's frolics o'er the world begin,
In the stern presence of my darker seeing,
There moves a shadow, every way agreeing
With each gay motion that he revels in.
Even the sweet wonder of thy slender shape
A graceful shade is haunting hour by hour;
And in the future there begin to lower
The signs that make the stricken household drape
Their tearful faces o'er with sullen crape--
Why should I trust in life's unstable power?