Vitae Summa Brevis Spem Nos Vetat Incohare Longam

They are not long, the weeping and the laughter,
Love and desire and hate:
I think they have no portion in us after
We pass the gate.

They are not long, the days of wine and roses:
Out of a misty dream
Our path emerges for a while, then closes
Within a dream.

- Ernest Dowson

[The title translates, from the Latin, as
'The brief sum of life forbids us the hope of enduring long' and is from a work by Horace]

2 thoughts on “Vitae Summa Brevis Spem Nos Vetat Incohare Longam

  1. vnseetharam naidu

    A brief and poignant poem reminding us of Robert Herrick
    It is also a gentle nudge to remember that joys and sorrows have their play too. Finally all this drama ends
    there isn’t even memory of the pain or pleasure once we are gone

    Reply

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