First Known When Lost + 

I never had noticed it until + 

’Twas gone⁠—the narrow copse + 

Where now the woodman lops + 

The last of the willows with his bill. + 

It was not more than a hedge overgrown. + 

One meadow’s breadth away + 

I passed it day by day. + 

Now the soil was bare as a bone, + 

And black betwixt two meadows green, + 

Though fresh-cut faggot ends + 

Of hazel made some amends + 

With a gleam as if flowers they had been. + 

Strange it could have hidden so near! + 

And now I see as I look + 

That the small winding brook, + 

A tributary’s tributary, rises there. + 