Classic Poem

Now again has passed away,
of this short time of life,
Another year, and all its hours
have gone into eternity
So one and sixty years,
just like a single term
Of my allotted time, have slipped away
as one forgets a guest.

If in sadness I've been sitting,
this no longer brings me care
Only when I've acted lightly
does there come to me despair.
Good Lord, teach me to consider
well, the preciousness of time,
And to turn my heart, in faith,
to the joys of eternity.