Stella this day is thirty-four,(We shan't dispute a year or
However,
Stella, be not troubled,
Although thy size and years are doubled,
Since first I saw thee at sixteen,
The brightest virgin on the green;
So little is thy form declin'd;
Made up so largely in thy mind.
Oh, would it please the gods to
Thy beauty, size, and years, and wit;
No age could furnish out a
Of nymphs so graceful, wise, and fair;
With half the lustre of your eyes,
With half your wit, your years, and size.
And then, before it grew too late,
How should I beg of gentle Fate,(That either nymph might have her swain,)To split my worship too in twain.
Form: couplets 1. "Stella" was Swift's name for Miss Hester (Esther) Johnson (1681-1728), to whom Swift addressed his Journal.
He was accustomed to send Stella birthday-verses from 1719 until her death.
It has been supposed that Swift was secretly married to Stella, but there is no substantial evidence on this point.
Swift first met her when he was secretary to Sir William Temple at Moor Park. (In the birthday-poems his references to her age are frequently inaccurate.)
