Joseph Friedlander, comp. The Standard Book of Jewish Verse. 1917.
By Judah Ha-LeviHow Long?
H
Know that youth flies like chaff the wind before.
Can spring forever last? Nay, soon draws nigh
Old age’s messenger with tresses hoar.
Shake thyself free from sin, as ere they fly,
The birds shake of the night-dews’ pearled store.
Cast off temptations that thy peace defy,
Like troubled waves upon a rocky shore,
And follow after that pure company
Of souls that seek God’s goodness evermore.