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.