Ah!—What should follow slips from my reflection;

Whatever follows ne'ertheless may be

As à-propos of Hope or Retrospection,

As though the lurking thought had followed free.

All present life is but an Interjection,

An "Oh!" or "Ah!" of Joy or Misery,

Or a "Ha! ha!" or "Bah!"—a yawn, or "Pooh!"

Of which perhaps the latter is most true.