I wish they would only take me as I am.

I wish they would only take me as I am.

"Man wants but little here below
Nor wants that little long,"
'Tis not with me exactly so;
read more

"Man wants but little here below
Nor wants that little long,"
'Tis not with me exactly so;
But 'tis so in the song.
My wants are many, and, if told,
Would muster many a score;
And were each wish a mint of gold,
I still should long for more.

If I live to grow old, as I find I go down,
Let this be my fate in a read more

If I live to grow old, as I find I go down,
Let this be my fate in a country town;
May I have a warm house, with a stone at my gate,
And a cleanly young girl to rub my bald pate.
May I govern my passions with an absolute sway,
Grow wiser and better as my strength wears away,
Without gout or stone, by a gentle decay.
- Walter Pope, The Old Man's Wish,

He calls his wish, it comes; he sends it back,
And says he called another; that arrives,
read more

He calls his wish, it comes; he sends it back,
And says he called another; that arrives,
Meets the same welcome; yet he still calls on;
Till one calls him, who varies not his call,
But holds him fast, in chains of darkness bound,
Till Nature dies, and judgment sets him free;
A freedom far less welcome than this chain.

We cannot wish for that we know not.
[Fr., On ne peut desirer ce qu'on ne connait pas.]

We cannot wish for that we know not.
[Fr., On ne peut desirer ce qu'on ne connait pas.]

Advice is what we ask for when we already know the answer but wish we didn't.

Advice is what we ask for when we already know the answer but wish we didn't.

I wish I knew the good of wishing.

I wish I knew the good of wishing.

I've often wished that I had clear,
For life, six hundred pounds a year,
A handsome house read more

I've often wished that I had clear,
For life, six hundred pounds a year,
A handsome house to lodge a friend,
A river at my garden's end,
A terrace walk, and half a rood
Of land, set out to plant a wood.

Some nights the sky wept stars that quickly floated and disappeared into the darkness before our wishes could meet them.

Some nights the sky wept stars that quickly floated and disappeared into the darkness before our wishes could meet them.