Ralph Waldo Emerson, comp. (1803–1882). Parnassus: An Anthology of Poetry. 1880.
The Wants of ManJohn Quincy Adams (17671848)
“M
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.
And canvas-backs—and wine—
And all the realms of nature spread
Before me, when I dine.
Four courses scarcely can provide
My appetite to quell;
With four choice cooks from France beside
To dress my dinner well.
Is elegant attire:
Black sable furs for winter’s frost,
And silks for summer’s fire.
And Cashmere shawls, and Brussels lace
My bosom’s front to deck,—
And diamond rings my hands to grace,
And rubies for my neck.
Affectionate and fair;
To solace all the woes of life,
And all its joys to share.
Of temper sweet, of yielding will,
Of firm yet placid mind,—
With all my faults to love me still
With sentiment refined.
And fortune fills my store,
I want of daughters and of sons
From eight to half a score.
I want (alas! can mortal dare
Such bliss on earth to crave?)
That all the girls be chaste and fair,
The boys all wise and brave.
To cheer the adverse hour;
Who ne’er to flattery will descend,
Nor bend the knee to power,—
A friend to chide me when I’m wrong,
My inmost soul to see;
And that my friendship prove as strong
For him as his for me.
The ensigns of command;
Charged by the People’s unbought grace
To rule my native land.
Nor crown nor sceptre would I ask,
But from my country’s will,
By day, by night, to ply the task
Her cup of bliss to fill.
To follow me behind,
And to be thought in future days
The friend of human kind,
That after ages, as they rise,
Exulting may proclaim
In choral union to the skies
Their blessings on my name.
I cannot want them long;
For life itself is but a span,
And earthly bliss—a song.
My last great want, absorbing all—
Is, when beneath the sod,
And summoned to my final call,
The “mercy of my God.”
W