Three Seasons
by Christina Rossetti
A Cup for hope!
she said,
In springtime ere the bloom was old:
The crimson wine was poor and cold
By her mouth's richer red.
A cup for love!
how low,
How soft the words; and all the while
Her blush was rippling with a smile
Like summer after snow.
A cup for memory!
Cold cup that one must drain alone:
While autumn winds are up and moan
Across the barren sea.
Hope, memory, love:
Hope for fair morn, and love for day,
And memory for the evening grey
And solitary dove.
Source:
Goblin Market and Other PoemsCopyright 1865
Macmillan And Co.London and Cambridge