A Petition to Time

Barry Cornwall (1787–1874)


TOUCH us gently, Time!
Let us glide adown thy stream
Gently,—as we sometimes glide
Through a quiet dream.
Humble voyagers are We,         5
Husband, wife, and children three—
(One is lost,—an angel, fled
To the azure overhead.)

Touch us gently, Time!
We 've not proud nor soaring wings:         10
Our ambition, our content,
Lies in simple things.
Humble voyagers are We,
O'er Life's dim, unsounded sea,
Seeking only some calm clime;—         15
Touch us gently, gentle Time!