"How small a part of time they share, That are so wondrous sweet and fair!"

Edmund Waller’s lines, “How small a part of time they share, That are so wondrous sweet and fair!” draw attention to the fleeting nature of youth, beauty, and loveliness. Though someone or something may shimmer with an exceptional charm, “wondrous sweet and fair”, this brilliance, by its very nature, claims only a brief moment in the vast flow of time. The marvels that grace existence, no matter how radiant, are allotted but a tiny fraction of its grand continuum.

The poet’s observation is both a lament and a celebration. There is a gentle mourning for the brevity with which beauty and sweetness appear in the world. Life’s finest qualities, whether physical attractiveness, innocence, or moments of pure happiness, possess an inherent transience. The use of “small a part of time” suggests that such wonders glow not for epochs, but for mere instants compared to the immeasurable sweep of ages. Waller invites the reader to appreciate the preciousness of these brief gifts, encouraging an awareness that their value is intensified precisely because they are impermanent.

Yet, underlying the melancholy is also a recognition of beauty’s unique power. The phrase “so wondrous sweet and fair” evokes admiration and almost a sense of reverence for these ephemeral experiences or qualities. The temporary nature might sharpen their value; what is rare is treasured more deeply. The fleeting existence of beauty encourages cherishing the present, relishing that which cannot be held forever. It serves as a gentle counsel to savor what is lovely in the now, for it is destined to pass.

Waller’s words thus encapsulate a universal truth: all things marvelous are momentary. Through the brevity of beauty, both its sadness and its profundity are revealed, inviting both appreciation and reflection on the impermanence interwoven with all sweetness and fairness.