The Dear
I plodded to Fairmile Hill-top, where A maiden one fain would guard From every hazard and every care Advanced on the roadside sward. I wondered how succeeding suns Would shape her wayfarings, And wished some Power might take such ones Under Its warding wings. The busy breeze came up the hill And smartened her cheek to red, And frizzled her hair to a haze. With a will "Good-morning, my Dear!" I said. She glanced from me to the far-off gray, And, with proud severity, "Good-morning to you - though I may say I am not YOUR Dear," quoth she: "For I am the Dear of one not here - One far from his native land!" - And she passed me by; and I did not try To make her understand. 1901
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"I plodded to Fairmile Hill-top, where..."
Thomas Hardy's contribution to classic is further solidified by the brilliance found in "The Dear"... ### Why We Love This Line At Linespedia, we believe that poetry is the ultimate sanctuary for the soul...