EXHORTING HER TO PATIENCE br Why do we fret at the inconstancy br Of our frail hearts, which cannot always love? br Time rushes onward, and we mortals move br Like waifs upon a river, neither free br To halt nor hurry. Sweet, if destiny br Throws us together for an hour, a day, br In the back--water of this quiet bay, br Let us rejoice. Before us lies the sea, br Where we must all be lost in spite of love. br We dare not stop to question. Happiness br Lies in our hand unsought, a treasure trove. br Time has short patience of man's vain distress; br And fate grows angry at too long delay; br And floods rise fast, and we are swept away.