Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). A Victorian Anthology, 1837–1895. 1895.

Barry Cornwall 1787–1874

A Petition to Time

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TOUCH us gently, Time!

Let us glide adown thy stream

Gently,—as we sometimes glide

Through a quiet dream.

Humble voyagers are We,

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:

Our ambition, our content,

Lies in simple things.

Humble voyagers are We,

O’er Life’s dim, unsounded sea,

Seeking only some calm clime;—

Touch us gently, gentle Time!