This poem, written on 28 February 1817, was included in a letter to Byron’s friend, Thomas Moore. A quick perusal suggests it’s about the transience of life. But it’s actually about Byron’s terrible hangover during Mardi Gras in Venice. The truth of its composition adds a bit of humor to a brief, melancholy gem.
So, we’ll go no more a-roving
So late into the night,
Though the heart be still as loving,
And the moon be still as bright.
For the sword outwears its sheath,
And the soul wears out the breast,
And the heart must pause to breathe,
And love itself have rest.
Though the night was made for loving,
And the day returns too soon,
Yet we’ll go no more a-roving
By the light of the moon.
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Link will appear as Hanson, Marilee. "So We’ll Go No More A-Roving" https://englishhistory.net/byron/poems/so-well-go-no-more-a-roving/, April 20, 2015