"Too late I staid, forgive the crime, Unheeded flew the hours; How noiseless falls the foot of Time That only treads on flow'rs! What eye with clear account remarks The ebbing of his glass, When all its sands are diamond sparks That dazzle as they pass? Ah! who to sober measurement Time's happy swiftness brings, When birds of Paradise have lent Their plumage for his wings?"