IF life were but a dream, my Love, <br />And death the waking time; <br />If day had not a beam, my Love, <br />And night had not a rhyme, — <br />A barren, barren world were this <br />Without one saving gleam; <br />I'd only ask that with a kiss <br />You'd wake me from the dream. <br />If dreaming were the sum of days, <br />And loving were the bane; <br />If battling for a wreath of bays <br />Could soothe a heart in pain, — <br />I'd scorn the meed of battle's might, <br />All other aims above <br />I'd choose the human's higher right, <br />To suffer and to love!<br /><br />Paul Laurence Dunbar<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/if-207/
