Time 

(from Straws on the Stream: 1907)

Time is not the cruel master,
Slavish souls have sometimes thought;
Faster driving us and faster,
Till our work is good for nought.

Time enjoys a day of leisure
With the artists and the bards:
And in summer takes his pleasure
Musing over Christmas cards.

A happy method we have found.
Wisely to control his powers;
And when he brings a Birthday round,
Envelop it in verse and flowers.

Emily Mary Barton (1817-1909)
Australian poet