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[fpb]

I love this poem. It serves for all the people who do right without anyone noticing, and without whom this world would be either Hell or a desert.

William Cowper. 1731–1800

To Mary Unwin

MARY! I want a lyre with other strings,
Such aid from Heaven as some have feign'd they drew,
An eloquence scarce given to mortals, new
And undebased by praise of meaner things;
That ere through age or woe I shed my wings, 5
I may record thy worth with honour due,
In verse as musical as thou art true,
Verse that immortalizes whom it sings:
But thou hast little need. There is a Book
By seraphs writ with beams of heavenly light, 10
On which the eyes of God not rarely look,
A chronicle of actions just and bright—
There all thy deeds, my faithful Mary, shine;
And since thou own'st that praise, I spare thee mine.

Comments

[sanscouronne.livejournal.com]

Oh, thank you for that. It's such a lovely poem, and your contemporary understanding of its
relevance is apt.