The Start

The Start written by William Henry Davies

From "A Poet's Pilgrimage", (1918)

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When dogs play in the sun outdoors,
  And cats chase sunbeams on the mat;
When merry maidens laugh for joy,
  And young men cock their ears at that;
And babes can see in panes of glass
A better light than fire-grate has;

When to my teeth ale is not cold,
  And sweeter than hot toast is bread;
When I, no longer charmed by books,
  Seek human faces in their stead;
And every stranger that I meet
Will seem a friend whom I must greet;

When I no sooner up at morn,
  Must like a turkey bolt my food,
To tramp the white green-bordered roads,
  And hear birds sing in many a wood:
When such a time of year has come,
The whole wide world can be my home.

This work is in the public domain in countries where the copyright term is the author's life plus 70 years or less.