Present Imperative

Franklin P. Adams 1881 (Chicago, Illinois) – 1960 (New York City, New York)



Horace: Book I, Ode 11

"Tu ne quaesieris--scire nefas
--quem mihi; quem tibi--"

AD LEUCONOEN

Nay querry not, Leuconoë, the finish of the fable;
Eliminate the worry as to what the years may hoard!
You only waste your time upon the Babylonian Table--
(Slang for the ouija board).

And as to whether Jupiter, the final, unsurpassed one,
May add a lot of winters to our portion here below,
Or this impinging season is to be our very last one--
Really, I'd hate to know.

Apply yourself to wisdom! Sweep the floor and wash the dishes,
Nor dream about the things you'll do in 1928!
My counsel is to cease to sit and yearn about your wishes,
Cursing the throws of fate.

My! how I have been chattering on matters sad and pleasant!
(Endure with me a moment while I polish off a rhyme).
If I were you, I think, I'd bother only with the present--
Now is the only time.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

49 sec read
35

Quick analysis:

Scheme X AX BCBC DEDE AXAX FGFG
Closest metre Iambic hexameter
Characters 857
Words 162
Stanzas 6
Stanza Lengths 1, 2, 4, 4, 4, 4

Franklin P. Adams

Franklin Pierce Adams was an American columnist known as Franklin P. Adams and by his initials F. P. A.. Famed for his wit, he is best known for his newspaper column, "The Conning Tower", and his appearances as a regular panelist on radio's Information Please. A prolific writer of light verse, he was a member of the Algonquin Round Table of the 1920s and 1930s. more…

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