One to whom thou art a stay,

As the oak that, scarred and grey,

Standeth on, and standeth fast,

Strong and stately to the last.

"Poet's lot like this hath been;

Such, perchance, may I have seen;

Or in fancy's fairy land,

Or in truth, and near at hand:

If in fancy, then, forsooth,

Fancy had the force of truth;