Sonnet XXVIII

A poem

(A Hopeless Dawn, Frank Bramley 1888)

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There was a time when you and I were not,
When ignorance benevolently reigned,
When absence’s sweet absence was my lot
And unknown dreams lay far and unattained.
When hope had yet to make its bitter mark
On every long anticipated hour,
When hearts bore not the yet unlighted spark
That hadn’t grown to wield its callous power.
But now that you and I are in its sway,
No more self-masters than the lowest slave,
The time that is the tyranny of today
Shall be our sole companion to the grave.
Still, I would rather bear a lover’s pain
Than never hope, though hope should be in vain.

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