Page:A New Zealand verse (1906).pdf/259

This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.
The House we Build at Last.
223
We build it safe, for use, not show
 (All our vain fancies are outworn),
The roof is very plain and low,
 We have no care for praise or scorn;
We learn such perfect taste at last,
When all our vulgar pride is past!

We have no care of those who come,
 No fear that they will smile or jest
At our small solitary home,
 Or say that this, or that, were best;
For in our city, each and all
Build very quietly and small.

We have no restless love for change,
 No wish to climb, no fear to fall;
No craving for the new or strange,
 No rude, unseemly haste at all;
We’ve learned the perfect grace of rest,
We’ve learned that silence is the best!

The storm may rave, the storm may cease,
 Or kingdoms sink, or kingdoms rise;
It never breaks our perfect peace,
 Whate’er befalls beneath the skies;
Our lowly house, and narrow land
Are safe from envy’s cruel hand.

Ah, yes! the home we build at last,
 Is better far than all the rest,
What, though the vanity is past!
 What, though we have no pleasant guest!
We have forgotten quite to weep,
And learned to be content with sleep.

Francis Sinclair

This article is issued from Wikisource. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.