Come, and where these runnels fall, <br />Listen to my madrigal! <br />Far from all sounds of all the strife, <br />That murmur through the walks of life; <br />From grief, inquietude, and fears, <br />From scenes of riot, or of tears; <br />From passions, cankering day by day, <br />That wear the inmost heart away; <br />From pale Detraction's envious spite, <br />That worries where it fears to bite; <br />From mad Ambition's worldly chase, <br />Come, and in this shady place, <br />Be thine Contentment's humble joys, <br />And a life that makes no noise, <br />Save when fancy, musing long, <br />Turns to desultory song; <br />And wakes some lonely melody, <br />Like the water dripping by. <br />Come, and where these runnels fall, <br />Listen to my madrigal!<br /><br />William Lisle Bowles<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/inscription-7/
