Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, DIEM PERDIDE, by ELIZABETH J. EAMES


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

DIEM PERDIDE, by                    
First Line: O greatly wise! Thou of the crown and rod
Last Line: Such triflers with the solemn trust of time!
Subject(s): Time


O GREATLY wise! thou of the crown and rod,
Robed in the purple majesty of kings --
Power was thine own, where'er thy footsteps trod,
Yet didst thou mourn if Time on idle wings
Went by for thee! Deep sunk in thought wert thou --
And sadness rested on thy noble brow,
If, when the dying day closed o'er thy head,
Thou hadst no knowledge gain'd -- no good conferr'd
"Diem Perdidi" was the thought that stirr'd
Thy conscious soul, when night her curtain spread.
Oh Emperor, greatly wise! could we so deal
With misspent hours, and win thy faith sublime,
We should not be ('mid the soul's mute appeal)
Such triflers with the solemn trust of Time!





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