Proud and lowly, beggar and lord, Over the bridge they go; Rags and velvet, fetter and sword, Poverty, pomp, and woe. Laughing, weeping, hurrying ever, Hour by hour they crowd along, While, below, the mighty river Sings them all a mocking song, Hurry along, sorrow and song, All is vanity 'neath the sun; Velvet and rags, so the world wags, Until the river no more shall run. Dainty, painted, powdered and gay, Rolleth my lady by; Rags-and-tatters, over the way, Carries a heart as high. Flowers and dreams from country meadows, Dust and din through city skies, Old men creeping with their shadows, Children with their sunny eyes,-- Hurry along, sorrow and song, All is vanity 'neath the sun; Velvet and rags, so the world wags, Until the river no more shall run. Storm and sunshine, peace and strife, Over the bridge they go; Floating on in the tide of life, Whither no man shall know. Who will miss them there to-morrow, Waifs that drift to the shade or sun? Gone away with their songs and sorrow; Only the river still flows on. Hurry along, sorrow and song, All is vanity 'neath the sun; Velvet and rags, so the world wags, Until the river no more shall run. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...A SHROPSHIRE LAD: 8 by ALFRED EDWARD HOUSMAN SWITZERLAND by JAMES SHERIDAN KNOWLES A FINE DAY ON LOUGH SWILLY by WILLIAM ALEXANDER (1824-1911) THE MOTHER-FAITH by EVERARD JACK APPLETON POLYHYMNIA: SONNET TO LADY FALKLAND UPON HER GOING TO INTO IRELAND by WILLIAM BASSE URANIA; THE WOMAN IN THE MOON: DEDICATION TO HENRY, PRINCE OF WALES by WILLIAM BASSE |