| Hunt and Lee, comps. The Book of the Sonnet. 1867. | | | | IX. Personal Talk (concluded) | | By William Wordsworth (1770–1850) |
| | | NOR can I not believe but that hereby | |
| Great gains are mine; for thus I live remote | |
| From evil-speaking; rancor, never sought, | |
| Comes to me not; malignant truth, or lie. | |
| Hence have I genial seasons, hence have I | 5 |
| Smooth passions, smooth discourse, and joyous thought; | |
| And thus from day to day my little boat | |
| Rocks in its harbor, lodging peaceably. | |
| Blessings be with them, and eternal praise, | |
| Who gave us nobler loves and nobler cares,— | 10 |
| The Poets, who on earth have made us heirs | |
| Of truth and pure delight by heavenly lays! | |
| Oh! might my name be numbered among theirs, | |
| Then gladly would I end my mortal days. | | | | |
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