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Shilpa KarhikContentment by Oliver Wendell Holmes
December 27th 2007 04:31
Contentment
by Oliver Wendell Holmes
"Man wants but little here below"
Little I ask; my wants are few;
I only wish a hut of stone,
(A very plain brown stone will do,)
That I may call my own;
And close at hand is such a one,
In yonder street that fronts the sun.
Plain food is quite enough for me;
Three courses are as good as ten;
If Nature can subsist on three,
Thank Heaven for three. Amen!
I always thought cold victual nice;
My choice would be vanilla-ice.
I care not much for gold or land;
Give me a mortgage here and there,
Some good bank-stock, some note of hand,
Or trifling railroad share,
I only ask that Fortune send
A little more than I shall spend.
Honors are silly toys, I know,
And titles are but empty names;
I would, perhaps, be Plenipo,
But only near St. James;
I'm very sure I should not care
To fill our Gubernator's chair.
Jewels are baubles; 't is a sin
To care for such unfruitful things;
One good-sized diamond in a pin,
Some, not so large, in rings,
A ruby, and a pearl, or so,
Will do for me; - I laugh at show.
My dame should dress in cheap attire;
Good, heavy silks are never dear;
I own perhaps I might desire
Some shawls of true Cashmere,
Some marrowy crapes of China silk,
Like wrinkled skins on scalded milk.
I would not have the horse I drive
So fast that folks must stop and stare;
An easy gait - two forty-five
Suits me; I do not care;
Perhaps, for just a single spurt,
Some seconds less would do no hurt.
Of pictures, I should like to own
Titians and Raphaels three or four,
I love so much their style and tone,
One Turner, and no more,
(A landscape, - foreground golden dirt,
The sunshine painted with a squirt.)
Of books but few, - some fifty score
For daily use, and bound for wear;
The rest upon an upper floor;
Some little luxury there
Of red morocco's gilded gleam
And vellum rich as country cream.
Busts, cameos, gems, such things as these,
Which others often show for pride,
I value for their power to please,
And selfish churls deride;
One Stradivarius, I confess,
Two Meerschaums, I would fain possess.
Wealth's wasteful tricks I will not learn,
Nor ape the glittering upstart fool;
Shall not carved tables serve my turn,
But all must be of buhl?
Give grasping pomp its double share,
I ask but one recumbent chair.
Thus humble let me live and die,
Nor long for Midas' golden touch;
If Heaven more generous gifts deny,
I shall not miss them much,
Too grateful for the blessing lent
Of simple tastes and mind content!
Review in Poem by Dexter
As the Yule tide season strangles with its consumerist doctrine,
We want more and more, what was once essential is taken for granted.
Survival has mutated to a gathering of material possessions,
Embracing technology in an effort to have more free time to do what?
Forgotten instincts to accumulate food, sleep and love are circumvented,
A simplicity of life engulfed by the shadow of desire, greed and accumulation.
Where mansions are quested, a hut is all that is required,
Where mammoth feasting is sought, fruit, vegetables and grain sustain.
Yearnings for fame, accolades and popularity all deform a pure soul,
Seeking validation externally instead of competing within.
Art, the creative expression of unique minds uplifts with visual realisation,
Our plight, humanity displayed through tone and colour to inspire and nurture.
Shiny trinkets named jewellery, designer label clothes of fashion,
All inconsequential to personal growth,
When the light goes out, does the style remain?
by Oliver Wendell Holmes
Oliver Wendell Holmes 1809 - 1884
"Man wants but little here below"
Little I ask; my wants are few;
I only wish a hut of stone,
(A very plain brown stone will do,)
That I may call my own;
And close at hand is such a one,
In yonder street that fronts the sun.
Plain food is quite enough for me;
Three courses are as good as ten;
If Nature can subsist on three,
Thank Heaven for three. Amen!
I always thought cold victual nice;
My choice would be vanilla-ice.
I care not much for gold or land;
Give me a mortgage here and there,
Some good bank-stock, some note of hand,
Or trifling railroad share,
I only ask that Fortune send
A little more than I shall spend.
Honors are silly toys, I know,
And titles are but empty names;
I would, perhaps, be Plenipo,
But only near St. James;
I'm very sure I should not care
To fill our Gubernator's chair.
Jewels are baubles; 't is a sin
To care for such unfruitful things;
One good-sized diamond in a pin,
Some, not so large, in rings,
A ruby, and a pearl, or so,
Will do for me; - I laugh at show.
My dame should dress in cheap attire;
Good, heavy silks are never dear;
I own perhaps I might desire
Some shawls of true Cashmere,
Some marrowy crapes of China silk,
Like wrinkled skins on scalded milk.
I would not have the horse I drive
So fast that folks must stop and stare;
An easy gait - two forty-five
Suits me; I do not care;
Perhaps, for just a single spurt,
Some seconds less would do no hurt.
Of pictures, I should like to own
Titians and Raphaels three or four,
I love so much their style and tone,
One Turner, and no more,
(A landscape, - foreground golden dirt,
The sunshine painted with a squirt.)
Of books but few, - some fifty score
For daily use, and bound for wear;
The rest upon an upper floor;
Some little luxury there
Of red morocco's gilded gleam
And vellum rich as country cream.
Busts, cameos, gems, such things as these,
Which others often show for pride,
I value for their power to please,
And selfish churls deride;
One Stradivarius, I confess,
Two Meerschaums, I would fain possess.
Wealth's wasteful tricks I will not learn,
Nor ape the glittering upstart fool;
Shall not carved tables serve my turn,
But all must be of buhl?
Give grasping pomp its double share,
I ask but one recumbent chair.
Thus humble let me live and die,
Nor long for Midas' golden touch;
If Heaven more generous gifts deny,
I shall not miss them much,
Too grateful for the blessing lent
Of simple tastes and mind content!
Review in Poem by Dexter
As the Yule tide season strangles with its consumerist doctrine,
We want more and more, what was once essential is taken for granted.
Survival has mutated to a gathering of material possessions,
Embracing technology in an effort to have more free time to do what?
Forgotten instincts to accumulate food, sleep and love are circumvented,
A simplicity of life engulfed by the shadow of desire, greed and accumulation.
Where mansions are quested, a hut is all that is required,
Where mammoth feasting is sought, fruit, vegetables and grain sustain.
Yearnings for fame, accolades and popularity all deform a pure soul,
Seeking validation externally instead of competing within.
Art, the creative expression of unique minds uplifts with visual realisation,
Our plight, humanity displayed through tone and colour to inspire and nurture.
Shiny trinkets named jewellery, designer label clothes of fashion,
All inconsequential to personal growth,
When the light goes out, does the style remain?
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