Had I But Known



I loved thee! Ah, those vows of love,
So fondly made, so soon unmade!
I trusted thee all men above—
Ah, fatal trust, so soon betrayed.
A dream that wore the face of truth
Was what I loved. The dream has flown.
All, all I've lost, faith, hope and love,
Had I but known! Had I but known!

Thou weepest. Would that I could shed
A tear for either joy or grief!
But from the heart grown cold and dead
There springs no fountain of relief.
Now all my life is tearless pain,
My hope forgetfulness alone,
And all my speech the one refrain—
Had I but known! Had I but known!

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 10, 2023

34 sec read
168

Quick analysis:

Scheme ababxcaC dedefcfC
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 560
Words 114
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 8, 8

James Brunton Stephens

James Brunton Stephens was a Scottish-born Australian poet, author of Convict Once. more…

All James Brunton Stephens poems | James Brunton Stephens Books

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    Who wrote the poem ״Invictus״?
    A William Ernest Henley
    B Oscar Wilde
    C Sylvia Plath
    D Thomas Hardy