Thou wert, my soul, an album bright,
A spotless leaf; but thought, and care,
And friend and foe, in foul and fair, 5
Have ‘written strange defeatures’ there;
And Time with heaviest hand of all,
Like that fierce writing on the wall,
Hath stamped sad dates—he can’t recall.
And error, gilding worst designs— 10
Like speckled snake that strays and shines—
Betrays his path by crooked lines;