Classic Poem

Thou canst not hide thyself behind thy work;
It puts thee in the front, so that man's eye,
Looking on it, sees thee. Truth will not lurk
Unseen in fair false words: thou canst not lie.
Therefore I say no word about my Rhymes ,
But give them as they came — the latest last —
That he who deigns to listen to their chimes,
May tell how wears the heart from which they pass'd.
O reader, if thou hear one heavenward peal
Amid the clang that is but earthly noise,
And if the echo from thy breast reveal
A kindred note, then will my heart rejoice.
I shall exult if thy approving look,
Bespeak a soul within my little book.