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To Dora Wordsworth
Confiding hopes of youthful hearts,
And each bright visionary scheme
Shall here remain in vivid hues
The hues of a celestial dream.
The farewell of the laurelled Knight
Traced by a brave but tremulous hand
Pledge of his truth & loyalty,
Thro’ changeful years unchanged shall stand.
But why should I inscribe my name —
No Poet I — no longer young?
The ambition of a loving heart
Makes garrulous the tongue.
Memorials of thy aged Friend,
Dora! thou dost not need
And when the cold earth covers her
No flattery shall she need.
Yet still a lurking wish prevails,
That, when from Life we all have passed,
The Friends who loved thy Father's name
On her’s a thought may cast.
Dorothy Wordsworth
June – 1832
Transcribed by S. H.—
MW
