\" I thought of thee, my partner and my guide,
as being past away. Vain sympathies!
For backward, Duddon, as I cast my eyes,
I see what was, and is, and will abide.
Still glides the stream, and shall for ever glide;
the Form remains, the Function never dies;
while we, the brave, the mighty and the wise,
we Men, who in our morn of youth defied
the elements, must vanish; - be it so!
Enough, if something from our hands have power
to live, and act, and serve the future hour;
and if, as toward the silent tomb we go,
through love, through hope, and faith´s transcendent dower,
we feel that we are greater than we know.\"





Engelsmännen är som de är, helt nonchalant skriver de ihop sina sonetter när vi så prydligt delar upp dem i fyra strofer. Men rimma kan de, därtill hjälpta av att de ständigt måste avlyssna sitt språk - de är ju inte hjälpta av stavningen (Alf Henriksson skriver om \"engelskans groteska ortografi\").

Den allra sista raden här ovan har jag som ett alldeles eget litet mantra:
\"We feel that we are greater than we know\" - den raden får du i julklapp.