Wild Swans — A Prayer on Going into My House
| God grant a blessing on this tower and cottage |
| And on my heirs, if all remain unspoiled, |
| No table or
chair or stool not simple enough |
| For shepherd lads in Galilee; and grant |
| That I myself for portions of
the year |
| May handle nothing and set eyes on nothing |
| But what the great and passionate have used |
| Throughout so many varying centuries |
| We take it for the norm; yet should I dream |
| Sinbad the sailor’s
brought a painted chest, |
| Or image, from beyond the Loadstone Mountain, |
| That dream is a norm; and
should some limb of the devil |
| Destroy the view by cutting down an ash |
| That shades the road, or setting
up a cottage |
| Planned in a government office, shorten his life, |
| Manacle his soul upon the Red Sea bottom. |