Poems (Rossetti, 1901)/Yet a little while

by Christina Georgina Rossetti

YET A LITTLE WHILE.

I DREAMED and did not seek: to-day I seek
  Who can no longer dream;
But now am all behindhand, waxen weak,
 And dazed amid so many things that gleam
  Yet are not what they seem.

I dreamed and did not work: to-day I work
  Kept wide awake by care
And loss, and perils dimly guessed to lurk;
 I work and reap not, while my life goes bare
  And void in wintry air.

I hope indeed but hope itself is fear
  Viewed on the sunny side;
I hope, and disregard the world that's here,
 The prizes drawn, the sweet things that betide;
  I hope, and I abide.