I was of late a barren plant, br Useless, insignificant, br Nor fig, nor grape, nor apple bore, br A native of the marshy shore; br But, gather'd for poetic use, br And plunged into a sable juice, br Of which my modicum I sip br With narrow mouth and slender lip, br At once, although by nature dumb, br All eloquent I have become, br And speak with fluency untired, br As if by Phoebus' self inspired.