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Thomas Hardy - He Never Expected Much
Work rating: Low

Well, World, you have kept faith with me, 
Kept faith with me; 
Upon the whole you have proved to be 
Much as you said you were. 
Since as a child I used to lie 
Upon the leaze and watch the sky, 
Never, I own, expected I 
That life would all be fair. 

`Twas then you said, and since have said, 
Times since have said, 
In that mysterious voice you shed 
From clouds and hills around: 
"Many have loved me desperately, 
Many with smooth serenity, 
While some have shown contempt of me 
Till they dropped underground. 

"I do not promise overmuch, 
Child; overmuch; 
Just neutral-tinted haps and such," 
You said to minds like mine. 
Wise warning for your credit`s sake! 
Which I for one failed not to take, 
And hence could stem such strain and ache 
As each year might assign.
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