It's not so long since nothing that I wrote
would ever get to meet the public's gaze -
because I never cared to write in ways
on which the modern poets seem to dote.
But then I met a Fairy on the web,
who loved to read an English tale in verse;
and her delight in me destroyed the curse,
raising my hopes to heights, instead of ebb.
And so, if you believe my verse delightful,
yet wonder at the secret of my style,
seeking a system ever and a while,
thinking up theories soberly insightful -
it isn't found in rhythm, or in rhyme;
a Fairy loved me, once upon a time.