How long ago had that day been?

[andresh]

He remembered that afternoon of his thirtieth birthday,
when he had been happy in the possession of a quiet mind
and had told himself that he could look forward,
without fear and hope, to the remainder of his life.

He had seen ahead of him neither brightness nor shadow,
but a future bathed in gentle twilight,
stretching away to a point where it merged almost
imperceptibly into the dark;

and with a calm
and confident smile
he had surveyed the years
that were yet to come.

(c) Translation of Tomas Mann's "Little Herr Friedemann" by David Luke

Aren't you also an eager prose-lover?