Aspiration
When I was daft (as urchins are), / And full if fairy lore,
Folk ask if I'm alive,
Most think I'm not;
Yet gaily I contrive
To till my plot.
The world its way can go,
I little heed,
So long as I can grow
The grub I need.
For though long overdue,
The years to me,
Have taught a lesson true,
--Humility.
Such better men than I
I've seen pass on;
Their pay-off when they die;
--Oblivion.
And so I mock at fame,
With books unread;
No monument I claim
When I am dead;
Contented as I see
My cottage thatch
That my last goal should be
--A cabbage patch.
When I was daft (as urchins are), / And full if fairy lore,
The night before I left Milan / A mob jammed the Cathedral Square,
A year to live, the Doctor said; / There is no cure, and shook his head.
A thousand books my library / Contains;