Page:Poems by William Wordsworth (1815) Volume 1.djvu/306

246 Modest, yet withal an Elf

Bold, and lavish of thyself,

Since we needs must first have met

I have seen thee, high and low,

Thirty years or more, and yet

'Twas a face I did not know;

Thou hast now, go where I may,

Fifty greetings in a day.

Ere a leaf is on a bush,

In the time before the Thrush

Has a thought about it's nest,

Thou wilt come with half a call,

Spreading out thy glossy breast

Like a careless Prodigal;

Telling tales about the sun,

When we've little warmth, or none.

Poets, vain men in their mood!

Travel with the multitude;

Never heed them; I aver

That they all are wanton Wooers;

But the thrifty Cottager,

Who stirs little out of doors,

Joys to spy thee near her home,

Spring is coming, Thou art come!