“I am the only being whose doom
No tongue would ask no eye would mourn”
                                
                                
                                
                                
                            
                                        
                                        I Am the Only Being (1836) 
Context: I am the only being whose doom
No tongue would ask no eye would mourn
I never caused a thought of gloom
A smile of joy since I was born
In secret pleasure — secret tears
This changeful life has slipped away
As friendless after eighteen years
As lone as on my natal day