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Poem
January 3, 1875
The Morning Star And Catholic Messenger
New Orleans, Orleans County, Louisiana
What is this article about?
A meditative poem reflecting on the regrets of a passing year, lamenting wasted time, missed opportunities, and moral failings, while urging redemption through learning from past errors to avoid future waste.
Clipping
OCR Quality
98%
Excellent
Full Text
WASTED TIME.
Alone in the dark and silent night,
With the heavy thought of a vanished year,
When evil deeds come back to sight,
And good deeds rise, with a welcome cheer;
Alone, with the spectres of the past,
That come with the old year's dying chime,
There glooms one shadow, dark and vast—
The shadow of wasted time.
The chances of happiness cast away,
The opportunities never sought,
The good resolves that every day
Have died in the impotence of thought.
The slow advance and the backward step,
In the rugged path we have striven to climb,
How they furrow the brow, and pale the lip,
When we talk with wasted time!
What are we now? what had we been
Had we hoarded time as the miser's gold,
Striving our meed of good to win,
Through summer's heat and the winter's cold;
Shrinking from naught that the world could do,
Fearing naught but the touch of crime,
Laboring, struggling, all seasons through,
And knowing no wasted time!
Who shall recall the vanished time?
Who shall roll back this ebbing tide,
That leaves us remorse, and shame, and tears,
And washes away all things beside?
Who shall give us strength e'en now
To leave forever this holiday dream,
To shake off this sloth from heart and brow,
And battle with wasted time?
The years that pass come not again,
The things that die no life renew,
But e'en from the rust of the cankering chain
A golden truth is glimmering through;
And to him who learns from errors past,
And turns away with strength sublime,
And maketh each year undo the last,
There is no wasted time.
Alone in the dark and silent night,
With the heavy thought of a vanished year,
When evil deeds come back to sight,
And good deeds rise, with a welcome cheer;
Alone, with the spectres of the past,
That come with the old year's dying chime,
There glooms one shadow, dark and vast—
The shadow of wasted time.
The chances of happiness cast away,
The opportunities never sought,
The good resolves that every day
Have died in the impotence of thought.
The slow advance and the backward step,
In the rugged path we have striven to climb,
How they furrow the brow, and pale the lip,
When we talk with wasted time!
What are we now? what had we been
Had we hoarded time as the miser's gold,
Striving our meed of good to win,
Through summer's heat and the winter's cold;
Shrinking from naught that the world could do,
Fearing naught but the touch of crime,
Laboring, struggling, all seasons through,
And knowing no wasted time!
Who shall recall the vanished time?
Who shall roll back this ebbing tide,
That leaves us remorse, and shame, and tears,
And washes away all things beside?
Who shall give us strength e'en now
To leave forever this holiday dream,
To shake off this sloth from heart and brow,
And battle with wasted time?
The years that pass come not again,
The things that die no life renew,
But e'en from the rust of the cankering chain
A golden truth is glimmering through;
And to him who learns from errors past,
And turns away with strength sublime,
And maketh each year undo the last,
There is no wasted time.
What sub-type of article is it?
Ode
What themes does it cover?
Moral Virtue
What keywords are associated?
Wasted Time
Vanished Year
Missed Opportunities
Moral Regrets
Redemption Through Effort
Time Management
Poem Details
Title
Wasted Time.
Subject
On The Passing Of The Year
Form / Style
Rhymed Stanzas In Iambic Tetrameter
Key Lines
There Glooms One Shadow, Dark And Vast—
The Shadow Of Wasted Time.
Who Shall Recall The Vanished Time?
Who Shall Roll Back This Ebbing Tide,
And To Him Who Learns From Errors Past,
And Turns Away With Strength Sublime,
And Maketh Each Year Undo The Last,
There Is No Wasted Time.