Life Lapses By
Life lapses by for you and me;
Our sweet days pass us by and flee
And evermore death draws us nigh;
The blue fades fast out of our sky,
The ripple ceases from our sea.
What would we not give, you and I,
The early sweet of life to buy?
Alas! sweetheart, that cannot we;
Life lapses by.
But though our young days buried lie,
Shall love with Spring and Summer die?
What if the roses faded be?
We in each other’s eyes will see
New Springs, nor question how or why
Life lapses by.
John Payne.