Never Again
LISTEN to the water-mill, all the livelong day,
How the creaking of the wheels wears the
hours away!
Languidly the water glides, useless on, and still,
Never coming back again to the water-mill;
And a proverb haunts my mind, like a spell is cast:
The mill will never grind again with the water that has passed.
Take the lesson to yourself, loving heart and true;
Golden years are passing by, youth is passing, too;
Try to make the best of life, lose no honest way;
All that you can call your own lies in this today.
Power, intellect, and strength may not, cannot last:
The mill will never grind again with the water that has passed.