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Read more poems by Ernest Dowson: Ernest Dowson Poems at Poetry X.

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. 


[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]

Added: 25 Feb 2002 | Last Read: 4 Sep 2026 12:41 AM | Viewed: 12412 times

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