If recollecting were forgetting, 1
Then I remember not.
And if forgetting, recollecting,
How near I had forgot.
And if to miss, were merry, 5
And to mourn, were gay,
How very blithe the fingers
That gathered this, Today!
Then I remember not.
And if forgetting, recollecting,
How near I had forgot.
And if to miss, were merry, 5
And to mourn, were gay,
How very blithe the fingers
That gathered this, Today!
(F.9/J.33)
[1] recollecting, forgetting:: forget to recollect pictures.
[2] remember not:: no picture, no memory.
[3] forgetting, recollecting:: trying to recollect what is forgetting.
[4] near:: close to forgetting, but still remembers something.
[6] gay:: a picture in a book (OED C.3, 1646).