The average man, if he meddles with criticism at all, is a conservative critic.

Stone, steel, dominions pass, Faith too, no wonder; So leave alone the grass That I am under.

The fairies break their dances And leave the printed lawn.

The rainy Pleiads wester Orion plunges prone, And midnight strikes and hastens, And I lie down alone.

They say my verse is sad: no wonder; Its narrow measure spans Tears of eternity, and sorrow, Not mine. but man's.

I sought them far and found them, The sure, the straight, the brave, The hearts I lost my own to, The souls I could not save They braced their belts about them, They crossed in ships the sea, They sought and found six feet of ground, And there they died for me.

You smile upon your friend to-day, To-day his ills are over; You hearken to the lover's say, And happy is the lover. 'Tis late to hearken, late to smile, But better late than never: I shall have lived a little while Before I die for ever.