| William Stanley Braithwaite, ed. The Book of Georgian Verse. 1909. | | | | The Deserter’s Meditation | | By John Philpot Curran (1750–1817) |
| | | IF sadly thinking, with spirits sinking, | |
| Could more than drinking my cares compose, | |
| A cure for sorrow from sighs I’d borrow, | |
| And hope to-morrow would end my woes. | |
| But as in wailing there’s nought availing, | 5 |
| And Death unfailing will strike the blow, | |
| Then for that reason, and for a season, | |
| Let us be merry before we go. | |
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| To joy a stranger, a way-worn ranger, | |
| In every danger my course I’ve run; | 10 |
| Now hope all ending, and death befriending | |
| His last aid lending, my cares are done. | |
| No more a rover, or hapless lover, | |
| My griefs are over—my glass runs low; | |
| Then for that reason, and for a season, | 15 |
| Let us be merry before we go. | | | | |
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