Author: Anne Bronte

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    When sinks my heart in hopeless gloom,
    And life can shew no joy for me;
    And I behold a yawning tomb,
    Where bowers and palaces should be;

    In vain you talk of morbid dreams;
    In vain you gaily smiling say,
    That what to me so dreary seems,
    The healthy mind deems bright and gay.

    I too have smiled, and thought like you,
    But madly smiled, and falsely deemed:
    Truth led me to the present view,
    I'm waking now, 'twas then I dreamed.

    I lately saw a sunset sky,
    And stood enraptured to behold
    Its varied hues of glorious dye:
    First, fleecy clouds of shining gold;

    These blushing took a rosy hue;
    Beneath them shone a flood of green;
    Nor less divine, the glorious blue
    That smiled above them and between.

    I cannot name each lovely shade;
    I cannot say how bright they shone;
    But one by one, I saw them fade;
    And what remained whey they were gone?

    Dull clouds remained, of sombre hue,
    And when their borrowed charm was o'er,
    The azure sky had faded too,
    That smiled so softly bright before.

    So, gilded by the glow of youth,
    Our varied life looks fair and gay;
    And so remains the naked truth,
    When that false light is past away.

    Why blame ye, then, my keener sight,
    That clearly sees a world of woes,
    Through all the haze of golden light,
    That flattering Falsehood round it throws?

    When the young mother smiles above
    The first-born darling of her heart,
    Her bosom glows with earnest love,
    While tears of silent transport start.

    Fond dreamer! little does she know
    The anxious toil, the suffering,
    The blasted hopes, the burning woe,
    The object of her joy will bring.

    Her blinded eyes behold not now
    What, soon or late, must be his doom;
    The anguish that will cloud his brow,
    The bed of death, the dreary tomb.

    As little know the youthful pair,
    In mutual love supremely blest,
    What weariness, and cold despair,
    Ere long, will seize the aching breast.

    And, even, should Love and Faith remain,
    (The greatest blessings life can show,)
    Amid adversity and pain,
    To shine, throughout with cheering glow;

    They do not see how cruel Death
    Comes on, their loving hearts to part:
    One feels not now the gasping breath,
    The rending of the earth-bound heart,

    The soul's and body's agony,
    Ere she may sink to her repose,
    The sad survivor cannot see
    The grave above his darling close;

    Nor how, despairing and alone,
    He then must wear his life away;
    And linger, feebly toiling on,
    And fainting, sink into decay.

    * * *

    Oh, Youth may listen patiently,
    While sad Experience tells her tale;
    But Doubt sits smiling in his eye,
    For ardent Hope will still prevail!

    He hears how feeble Pleasure dies,
    By guilt destroyed, and pain and woe;
    He turns to Hope, and she replies,
    'Believe it not, it is not so!'

    'Oh, heed her not!' Experience says,
    'For thus she whispered once to me;
    She told me, in my youthful days,
    How glorious manhood's prime would be.

    When, in the time of early Spring,
    Too chill the winds that o'er me pass'd,
    She said, each coming day would bring
    A fairer heaven, a gentler blast.

    And when the sun too seldom beamed,
    The sky, o'ercast, too darkly frowned,
    The soaking rain too constant streamed,
    And mists too dreary gathered round;

    'She told me Summer's glorious ray
    Would chase those vapours all away,
    And scatter glories round,
    With sweetest music fill the trees,
    Load with rich scent the gentle breeze,
    And strew with flowers the ground.

    But when, beneath that scorching ray,
    I languished, weary, through the day,
    While birds refused to sing,
    Verdure decayed from field and tree,
    And panting Nature mourned with me
    The freshness of the Spring.

    "Wait but a little while," she said,
    "Till Summer's burning days are fled;
    And Autumn shall restore,
    With golden riches of her own,
    And Summer's glories mellowed down,
    The freshness you deplore."

    And long I waited, but in vain:
    That freshness never came again,
    Though Summer passed away,
    Though Autumn's mists hung cold and chill,
    And drooping nature languished still,
    And sank into decay.

    Till wintry blasts foreboding blew
    Through leafless trees, and then I knew
    That Hope was all a dream.
    But thus, fond youth, she cheated me;
    And she will prove as false to thee,
    Though sweet her words may seem.'

    Stern prophet! Cease thy bodings dire
    Thou canst not quench the ardent fire
    That warms the breast of youth.
    Oh, let it cheer him while it may,
    And gently, gently die away,
    Chilled by the damps of truth!

    Tell him, that earth is not our rest;
    Its joys are empty, frail at best;
    And point beyond the sky.
    But gleams of light may reach us here;
    And hope the roughest path can cheer:
    Then do not bid it fly!

    Though hope may promise joys, that still
    Unkindly time will ne'er fulfil;
    Or, if they come at all,
    We never find them unalloyed,
    Hurtful perchance, or soon destroyed,
    They vanish or they pall;

    Yet hope itself a brightness throws
    O'er all our labours and our woes;
    While dark foreboding Care
    A thousand ills will oft portend,
    That Providence may ne'er intend
    The trembling heart to bear.

    Or if they come, it oft appears,
    Our woes are lighter than our fears,
    And far more bravely borne.
    Then let us not enhance our doom;
    But e'en in midnight's blackest gloom
    Expect the rising morn.

    Because the road is rough and long,
    Shall we despise the skylark's song,
    That cheers the wanderer's way?
    Or trample down, with reckless feet,
    The smiling flowerets, bright and sweet
    Because they soon decay?

    Pass pleasant scenes unnoticed by,
    Because the next is bleak and drear;
    Or not enjoy a smiling sky,
    Because a tempest may be near?

    No! while we journey on our way,
    We'll notice every lovely thing;
    And ever, as they pass away,
    To memory and hope we'll cling.

    And though that awful river flows
    Before us, when the journey's past,
    Perchance of all the pilgrim's woes
    Most dreadful, shrink not, 'tis the last!

    Though icy cold, and dark, and deep;
    Beyond it smiles that blessed shore,
    Where none shall suffer, none shall weep,
    And bliss shall reign for evermore!

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Type of Poem: Reflective Poem

Date Written:

Date Published:

Language: English

Keywords: Public Domain

Source: Public Domain Collection

Publisher:

Rights/Permissions: Public Domain

Comments/Notes: The poem is a profound exploration of the human condition, the passage of time, and the dichotomy between hope and despair. The poet employs vivid and evocative imagery to convey these themes, painting pictures of sunsets and landscapes that mirror the emotions and experiences of life. The tone is melancholic, and a sense of inevitability and acceptance permeates the poem, reflecting the poet's understanding of life's transience and the cyclic nature of joy and sorrow.

The structure of the poem is consistent, which provides a rhythmic stability that contrasts with the fluctuating emotions expressed. The poet uses the sunset as a metaphor for life, its vibrant, fleeting beauty a symbol for youth and hope, and its inevitable fading a symbol for aging and the disillusionment that comes with experience. This imagery is further extended with the depiction of a young mother and a lover, both blissfully unaware of the impending challenges and disappointments.

The poem also employs the literary device of personification, giving human characteristics to abstract concepts like Hope, Experience, and Death. This not only brings these concepts to life but also allows the poet to engage in a dialogue with them, adding depth and dynamism to the narrative. In the end, despite the harsh realities presented, the poem imparts a message of resilience, urging us to appreciate fleeting moments of beauty and joy amidst the trials of life. It emphasizes that even though life is fraught with hardship and eventual decay, hope can offer solace and light in the darkest times.