English poem
Country Life in America
by Anne O'Hagan (1869–1933)
COME live with me and be my love, And we will all the pleasures prove That stream and valley, dale and field, Efficiently remodeled, yield.
The dell where I shall hide thee, dear, Must to the 'Change be fairly near— An hour from town, if aëroplaned— And thoroughly sub-tiled and drained.
For vine-wreathed cot I 'll build thee there The Villa d'Este, copied fair. With thirty baths, all water-filled From subterranean wells I 've drilled.
I ll build—of course!—a theater Where thou, with comrades amateur, May'st work to elevate the stage. Chief rural pastime of our age.
When in the dusk the fireflies flit About thy lawns, thy windows, lit From my great dynamo, will shame Their poor, pale phosphorescent flame.
Sometimes thou 'lt stroll in dappled shade Through woodland paths, macadam-laid; And gather lilies, silver-cool, From many a well-cemented pool.
The nut, the berry, sweet and wild, Shall give thee of their flavors mild, Judiciously eked out with quail. With truffles, and madeira pale.
Come live with me and be my love. And we will all the pleasures prove That stream and valley, dale and field, The Plaza or the Ritz can yield.