I looked for that which is not, nor can be, And hope deferred made my heart sick, in truth; But years must pass before a hope of youth Is resigned utterly. I watched and waited with a steadfast will: And, tho' the object seemed to fly away That I so longed for, ever, day by day, I watched and waited still. Sometimes I said,-'This thing shall be no more; My expectation wearies, and shall cease; I will resign it now, and be at peace.'- Yet never gave it o'er. Sometimes I said,-'It is an empty name I long for; to a name why should I give The peace of all the days I have to live?'- Yet gave it all the same. Alas! thou foolish one,- alike unfit For healthy joy and salutary pain, Thou knowest the chase useless, and again Turnest to follow it.

— Christina Rossetti

#love #poetry #yearning #love