Sonnet CXXXV
[Pg 159]
SONNET CXXXV.
Amor mi manda quel dolce pensero.
LIFE WILL FAIL HIM BEFORE HOPE.
Love to my mind recalling that sweet thought,The ancient confidant our lives between,Well comforts me, and says I ne'er have beenSo near as now to what I hoped and sought.I, who at times with dangerous falsehood fraught,At times with partial truth, his words have seen,Live in suspense, still missing the just mean,'Twixt yea and nay a constant battle fought.Meanwhile the years pass on: and I beholdIn my true glass the adverse time draw nearHer promise and my hope which limits here.So let it be: alone I grow not old;Changes not e'en with age my loving troth;My fear is this—the short life left us both.