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,
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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.
Thy wish was father, Harry, to that thought.
Thy wish was father, Harry, to that thought.
Wishing, of all employments is the worst.
Wishing, of all employments is the worst.
Wert thou all that I wish thee, great, glorious and free,
First flower of the earth, and first gem read more
Wert thou all that I wish thee, great, glorious and free,
First flower of the earth, and first gem of the sea.
I wish I knew the good of wishing.
I wish I knew the good of wishing.
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.
When you love someone, all your saved-up wishes start coming out.
When you love someone, all your saved-up wishes start coming out.
"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.
Wishers and woulders be small householders.
Wishers and woulders be small householders.
