The Clock

  Impassive clock! Terrifying, sinister god,
  Whose finger threatens us and says: "Remember!
  The quivering Sorrows will soon be shot
  Into your fearful heart, as into a target;

  Nebulous pleasure will flee toward the horizon
  Like an actress who disappears into the wings;
  Every instant devours a piece of the pleasure
  Granted to every man for his entire season.

  Three thousand six hundred times an hour, Second
  Whispers: Remember! — Immediately
  With his insect voice, Now says: I am the Past
  And I have sucked out your life with my filthy trunk!

  Remember! Souviens-toi, spendthrift! Esto memor!
  (My metal throat can speak all languages.)
  Minutes, blithesome mortal, are bits of ore
  That you must not release without extracting the gold!

  Remember, Time is a greedy player
  Who wins without cheating, every round! It's the law.
  The daylight wanes; the night deepens; remember!
  The abyss thirsts always; the water-clock runs low.

  Soon will sound the hour when divine Chance,
  When august Virtue, your still virgin wife,
  When even Repentance (the very last of inns!),
  When all will say: Die, old coward! it is too late!"