Matthew Arnold — A Question

Joy comes and goes, hope ebbs and flows        &nbspLike the wave; Change doth unknit the tranquil strength of men. Love lends life a little grace, A few sad smiles; and then, Both are laid in one cold place,        &nbspIn the grave. Dreams dawn and fly, friends smile and die        &nbspLike spring flowers; Our vaunted life is one long funeral. Men dig graves with bitter tears For their dead hopes; and all, Mazed with doubts and sick with fears,        &nbspCount the hours. We count the hours! These dreams of ours,        &nbspFalse and hollow, Do we go hence and find they are not dead? Joys we dimly apprehend, Faces that smiled and fled, Hopes born here, and born to end,        &nbspShall we follow?