Vitae Summa Brevis Spem Nos Vetat Incohare Longam

by Ernest Dowson

The brief sum of life forbids us the hope of enduring long. — Horace

They are not long, the weeping and the laughter,
Love and desire and hate:
I think they have no portion in us after
We pass the gate.

They are not long, the days of wine and roses:
Out of a misty dream
Our path emerges for a while, then closes
Within a dream.