The poem
Delia, the unkindest girl on earth, When I besought the fair, That favour of intrinsic worth A ringlet of her hair,
Refused that instant to comply With my absurd request, For reasons she could specify, Some twenty score at least.
Trust me, my dear, however odd It may appear to say, I sought it merely to defraud Thy spoiler of his prey.
Yes! when its sister locks shall fade, As quickly fade they must, When all their beauties are decayed, Their gloss, their colour, lost—
Ah then! if haply to my share Some slender pittance fall, If I but gain one single hair, Nor age usurp them all;—
When you behold it still as sleek, As lovely to the view, As when it left thy snowy neck, That Eden where it grew,
Then shall my Delia's self declare That I professed the truth, And have preserved my little share In everlasting youth.