Thomas Moore

May 28, 1780 - Feb 26, 1852

 

Quick! We Have But A Second

by Thomas Moore

Quick! we have but a second,
Fill round the cup, while you may;
For Time, the churl, hath beckoned,
And we must away, away!
Grasp the pleasure that's flying,
For oh! not Orpheus' strain
Could keep sweet hours from dying,
Or charm them to life again.
Then quick! we have but a second,
Fill round, fill round, while you may;
For Time, the churl, hath beckoned,
And we must away, away!

See the glass, how it flushes,
Like some young Hebe's lip,
And half meets thine, and blushes
That thou shouldst delay to sip.
Shame, oh shame unto thee,
If ever thou seest the day
When a cup or a lip shall woo thee,
And turn untouched away!
Then quick! we have but a second,
Fill round, fill round while you may;
For Time, the churl, hath beckoned,
And we must away, away!

Source:

The Poetical Works of Thomas Moore.
Copyright undated, very old
The Walter Scott Publishing Co. Ltd.