I fear my power impotent
To hold you leal and full content,
Some hapless look or word perchance
Dispels the glamour of romance;
I tremble lest some stranger fair
Arrest you—cause you to compare
The meagre charms which I possess
With some resplendent loveliness.
How far removed from Youth’s command
The trembling sceptre in my hand,
As miserly within the glass
I mark Love’s fleeting hours pass.