quote · Legacy record
To every life there comes a time supreme: One day, one night, one morning, or one noon, One freighted hour—one moment opportune, One rift through which sublime fulfilments gleam; One time when fate goes tiding with the stream, One Once in balance 'twixt Too Late, Too Soon— And ready for the passing instant's boon That shall in favor tip the wavering beam. Ah! happy he who, knowing how to wait, Knows also how to watch and how to stand On life's broad deck alert, and at the prow, To seize the happy moment big with fate From Opportunity's extended hand When the great clock of Destiny strikes Now!
To every life there comes a time supreme: One day, one night, one morning, or one noon, One freighted hour—one moment opportune, One rift through which sublime fulfilments gleam; One time when fate goes tiding with the stream, One Once in balance 'twixt Too Late, Too Soon— And ready for the passing instant's boon That shall in favor tip the wavering beam. Ah! happy he who, knowing how to wait, Knows also how to watch and how to stand On life's broad deck alert, and at the prow, To seize the happy moment big with fate From Opportunity's extended hand When the great clock of Destiny strikes Now!
In print by 1911 AD · modern
Recorded in a printed collection by this date; the original date of these words is still unknown.
Meaning not yet available
An individual explanation has not yet been added. We do not substitute a generic description for an interpretation of these particular words.
Begin with source-checked readings and explanations ↗Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Mary Ashley Townsend
Attribution: attributed - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- In print by 1911 AD · modern
In print by 1911: recorded in The Optimist’s Good Morning (1911). Collection publication is an upper bound for this wording, not its earliest origin, composition date or the author's lifetime.
An author lifetime, approximate period or collection date is not necessarily the date when these words were first written or spoken. - Recorded source
- The Optimist’s Good Morning (1911) (1911 AD)
Complete signed selection 88; printed byline: Mary Ashley Townsend; Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1911; printed copyright 1907
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.