Two floral teacups lean toward each other, their handles joined by a thin gold thread on pink cloth.

Original artwork, not a still

John Dryden

I have not joyed an hour since you departed, for public miseries, and for private fears; but this blest meeting has o'erpaid them all.

Behind the line

What it means

Our interpretation.

Since you left, the speaker hasn't felt a moment of joy, weighed down by worries public and private. But finally meeting again has more than made up for all of it. It's relief and happiness at a reunion.

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