The hem of hope is not short; beyond this, it is up to the unreaching hand to see whether it can reach it or not.

This couplet paints a vivid picture of longing through the classic image of grasping for the hem of a beloved's garment. The poet reassures us that the 'skirt of hope' is vast and boundless—it never runs short or turns away. If fulfillment eludes us, the tragedy lies not in a lack of hope, but in our own frail, unreaching hands that couldn't stretch far enough to hold it.