Think not of the future, the prospect is uncertain;
Laugh away the present, while laughing hours remain:
Those who gaze too boldly through Time’s mystic curtain
Soon will wish to close it, and dream of joy again.
I, like thee, was happy, and, on hope relying,
Thought the present pleasure might revive again;
But receive my counsel! time is always flying,
Then laugh away the present, while laughing hours remain
I have felt unkindness, keen as that which hurts thee;
I have met with friendship fickle as the wind;
Take what friendship offers ere its warmth deserts thee;
Well I know the kindest may not long be kind.
Would you waste the pleasure of the summer season,
Thinking that the winter must return again?
If our summer’s fleeting, surely that’s a reason
For laughing off the present, while laughing hours remain.