Sonnet XXX: Last Fire
July 5, 2023Sonnet XLII: Hope Overtaken
July 5, 2023Sonnet XLIII: Love and Hope
Bless love and hope. Full many a withered year
Whirled past us, eddying to its chill doomsday;
And clasped together where the blown leaves lay
We long have knelt and wept full many a tear.
Yet lo! one hour at last, the Spring’s compeer,
Flutes softly to us from some green byeway:
Those years, those tears are dead, but only they:—
Bless love and hope, true soul; for we are here.
Cling heart to heart; nor of this hour demand
Whether in very truth, when we are dead,
Our hearts shall wake to know Love’s golden head
Sole sunshine of the imperishable land;
Or but discern, through night’s unfeatured scope,
Scorn-fired at length the illusive eyes of Hope.
Dante Gabriel Rossetti
Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828-1882) was an English poet, painter, and founding member of the Pre-Raphaelite movement. His works, such as "The Blessed Damozel" and "Sister Helen," explored themes of love, death, and the supernatural. Rossetti was also a talented artist and designed many of the Pre-Raphaelite movement's most famous works.