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Page:Poems - Tennyson (1843) - Volume 2 of 2.djvu/81

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THE TALKING OAK.
69

xx.

"From when she gamboll'd on the greens,

A baby-germ, to when
The maiden blossoms of her teens
Could number five from ten.

xxi.

"I swear, by leaf, and wind, and rain,

(And hear me with thine ears,)
That, tho' I circle in the grain
Five hundred rings of years—

xxii.

"Yet, since I first could cast a shade,

Did never creature pass
So slightly, musically made,
So light upon the grass:

xxiii.

"For as to fairies, that will flit

To make the greensward fresh,
I hold them exquisitely knit,
But far too spare of flesh."