Poems (Proctor)/Hope and Despair

HOPE AND DESPAIR.
Clouds, dark and lowering, hid the sky;Despair with cup of rue stood byAnd sighed, "Drink, and be mine!"But with such tears and moans she prayed,To Hope I turned—the radiant maid—And quaffed her rosy wine.That instant heaven was sunny blue!—And in my secret soul I knewDespair, the coward, brought the shade,Brave-hearted Hope the shine.