Thomas Hardy

V.R. 1819

Moments the mightiest pass calendared,
    And when the Absolute
 In backward Time outgave the deedful word
    Whereby all life is stirred:
“Let one be born and throned whose mould shall constitute
The norm of every royal-reckoned attribute,”
    No mortal knew or heard.
 But in due days the purposed Life outshone -
    Serene, sagacious, free;
—Her waxing seasons bloomed with deeds well done,
    And 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 -
    Till ripening years have run.
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