V.R. 1819-1901

A Reverie

The mightiest moments pass uncalendared,
111And when the Absolute
In backward Time pronounced the deedful word
1111Whereby all life is stirred:
'Let one be born and throned whose mould shall constitute
The norm of every royal-reckoned attribute,'
11111111No mortal knew or heard.

But in due days the purposed Life outshone -
1111Serene, sagacious, free;
Her waxing seasons bloomed with deeds well done,
1111And the world's heart was won . . .
Yet may the deed of hers most bright in eyes to be
Lie hid from ours - as in the All-One's thought lay she -
1111111Till ripening years have run.


Thomas Hardy, The Complete Poems, Papermac, 1981.