Only when he hath passed her is it his to know, too late, the Fairy in disguise.

Quatrains

Madison Cawein (1900)

The Wind in the Pines

When winds go organing through the pines
On hill and headland, darkly gleaming,
Meseems I hear sonorous lines
Of Iliads that the woods are dreaming.

Opportunity

Behold a hag whom Life denies a kiss
As he rides questward in knight-errant-wise;
Only when he hath passed her is it his
To know, too late, the Fairy in disguise.

the image is a detail from an old fairy tale book , courtesy of Art Passions