“The loves and hours of the life of a man,
They are swift and sad, being born of the sea.”

— Algernon Charles Swinburne , book Poems and Ballads

Poems and Ballads (1866-89), The Triumph of Time
Context: The loves and hours of the life of a man,
They are swift and sad, being born of the sea.
Hours that rejoice and regret for a span,
Born with a man's breath, mortal as he;
Loves that are lost ere they come to birth,
Weeds of the wave, without fruit upon earth.
I lose what I long for, save what I can,
My love, my love, and no love for me!

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Algernon Charles Swinburne 87

English poet, playwright, novelist, and critic 1837–1909

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