TO make this house my very own Could not be done by law alone. Though covenant and deed convey Absolute fee, as lawyers say, There are domestic rites beside By which this house is sanctified. By kindled fire upon the hearth, By planted pansies in the garth, By food, and by the quiet rest Of those brown eyes that I love best, And by a friend's bright gift of wine, I dedicate this house of mine. When all but I are soft abed I trail about my quiet stead A wreath of blue tobacco smoke (A charm that evil never broke) And bring my ritual to an end By giving shelter to a friend. These done, O dwelling, you become Not just a house, but truly Home! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...ACCORDING TO THE MIGHTY WORKING by THOMAS HARDY SUMMER'S LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT: A LITANY IN TIME OF PLAGUE by THOMAS NASHE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE: 1. GOOD NIGHT by ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON THE CHILD ALONE: 6. BLOCK CITY by ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON THE DAISY; WRITTEN AT EDINBURGH by ALFRED TENNYSON MOUNTAIN FROLIC by GEORGE LAWRENCE ANDREWS LESBIA'S COMPLAINT AGAINST THYRISIS HIS INCONSTANCY; A SONNET by PHILIP AYRES THE SUCCESSOR by WILLIAM ROSE BENET IN VINCULIS; SONNETS WRITTEN IN AN IRISH PRISON: A DREAM OF GOOD by WILFRID SCAWEN BLUNT |