To A Young Poet Poem by Francis Duggan

You say your name will live forever and your poems are destined to live on
And your words of genius will be quoted in centuries after you've gone
Into the non existent hereafter though your poems bound to insure your fame
At least that is how 'twould seem you see it that your's will be an immortal name.

But fame for anyone is not forever since all things have a use by date
Though Shakespeare and Dante amongst others some will celebrate
But they too will also be forgotten and lost in the great sands of time
Who would have foreseen the birth of the internet and who would have forecast the demise of rhyme.

There are millions of poets out there like you who feel their fame will never die
But old father time is the master of far greater than you or I
Any mortal cannot be immortal and nothing forever remain
And what's lost to time is lost forever and never to be seen again.

Your fame will long outlive your funeral but time is the root of all decay
And your name will not live forever since in time everything fades away
You may be a very fine poet but you are egotistical and young
And spare a thought for the many young writers who praises never will be sung.

When you boast your name will live forever that seems a bit far fetched to me
You do seem quite naive in some ways as you cannot grasp the reality
That only Mother Nature is immortal and everything else fade to time
Who would have forseen the birth of the internet and who would have forecast the demise of rhyme?