Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, TO-MORROW, by NATHANIEL COTTON


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

TO-MORROW, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: To-morrow, didst thou say!
Last Line: Hold the fleet angel fast until he bless thee.
Subject(s): Wisdom


TO-MORROW, didst thou say!——
Methought I heard Horatio say, To-morrow.
Go to—I will not hear of it—To-morrow!
A sharper 'tis, who stakes his penury
Against thy plenty—who takes thy ready cash,
And pays thee nought but wishes, hopes, and promises,
The currency of idiots. Injurious bankrupt,
That gulls the easy creditor!—To-morrow!
It is a period nowhere to be found
In all the hoary registers of time,
Unless perchance in the fool's calendar.
Wisdom disclaims the word, nor holds society
With those who own it. No, my Horatio,
'Tis Fancy's child, and Folly is its father;
Wrought of such stuff as dreams are; and baseless
As the fantastic visions of the evening.
But soft, my friend,—arrest the present moments;
For be assur'd, they all are arrant tell-tales;
And though their flight be silent, and their path
Trackless as the wing'd couriers of the air,
They post to Heav'n, and there record thy folly:
Because, though station'd on the' important watch,
Thou, like a sleeping, faithless sentinel,
Didst let them pass unnotic'd, unimprov'd.
And know, for that thou slumber'dst on the guard,
Thou shalt be made to answer at the bar
For every fugitive: and when thou thus
Shalt stand impleaded at the high tribunal
Of hood-winkt justice, who shall tell thy audit?
Then stay the present instant, dear Horatio;
Imprint the marks of wisdom on its wings.
'Tis of more worth than kingdoms! far more precious
Than all the crimson treasures of life's fountain!——
Oh! let it not elude thy grasp, but, like
The good old patriarch upon record,
Hold the fleet angel fast until he bless thee.





Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!


Other Poems of Interest...
Home: PoetryExplorer.net