 Or, if there were a sympathy in choice,   War, death, or sickness did lay siege to it,   Making it momentary as a sound,   Swift as a shadow, short as any dream, 
Or—even if two people loved each other and could choose to marry—war, death, or sickness might intervene, so that their love lasts no longer than a sound, is as fleeting as a shadow, short as a dream.