I perfected myself when I was alone;
All that makes me worthy was secretly made.
Common things grow in the sun,
But winter hides genius in the deep, cold shade.
You didn’t see what I was—in my behavior,
My speech, or my designs.
All you saw was false. Obviously,
You can’t ignore the obvious—
But you never saw what was going on in the mines.
You added things up, but couldn’t understand
How my pleasure was the largest sum.
You didn’t see how often I denied myself
Before I whispered to you, “of course, my darling, I will come.”