William Wetmore Story - Human Life lyrics

We are pursued by Fate; nothing on earth Flowers into satisfaction; on the skirt Of all temptation, hidden yet alert, Hangs disappointment ready to spring forth And jar with discord the clear song of mirth; Even our best pleasure has the sting of hurt, And prayers and tears are futile to avert The Nemesis that haunts us from our birth. Oh! what avail our struggles, who are caught In Fate's inextricable web! In vain Through the dark future our exhausted thought Seeks for a resting-place secure from pain; Our Present crumbles 'neath us while we laugh, Our Past has but a sigh for epitaph.