A Wish
Title
A Wish
Creator
Philip Bourke Marston
Source
The Kiote
Publisher
The Kiote
Date
March 1901
Type
Poetry
Text
I do but ask a little time of peace
Before the end of all. I crave no bliss;
I crave no love, nor fame, but only this –
On summer days to bask beneath old trees,
Or half asleep to lie by gentle seas,
Hearing the waves that whisper ere they kiss,
Then break and babble; or, when twilight is,
And one by one the birds from singing cease,
Wander the patient, tranquil hills among
And languish in an exquisite regret,
And hear a sad but not discordant song
Possess the air; and when the sun is set,
Lie down with thankfulness to know, ere long,
All things that ever were I shall forget.
Before the end of all. I crave no bliss;
I crave no love, nor fame, but only this –
On summer days to bask beneath old trees,
Or half asleep to lie by gentle seas,
Hearing the waves that whisper ere they kiss,
Then break and babble; or, when twilight is,
And one by one the birds from singing cease,
Wander the patient, tranquil hills among
And languish in an exquisite regret,
And hear a sad but not discordant song
Possess the air; and when the sun is set,
Lie down with thankfulness to know, ere long,
All things that ever were I shall forget.