To be betrayed by everyone you know;

To find dear loves’ rude ending in a note,

To see fair faith in its last trembling throes,

Or tearful prayers that ever shall fall mute.

To find prized fortune at the tip of grasp,

Grand festivals eclipsed by sudden rain,

Resounding no to proud proposals asked,

Petitions snubbed, though everything to gain.

What can one do when all the world seems lost?

Heaven a distant castle in the air,

Sweet providence a penny more the cost,

Life’s milk and honey soured in despair.

So bides the brutal pilgrimage of fate—

When all but hope eternal abdicates.