Arthur Quiller-Couch, comp. The Oxford Book of Victorian Verse. 1922.
Truly GreatWilliam H. Davies (18711940)
M
My walls within must have some books;
A house that ’s small; a garden large,
And in it leafy nooks:
That comes not from my living kind,
But from a dead man in his grave,
Who cannot change his mind:
Contented that no eyes but mine
Can see her many charms, nor voice
To call her beauty fine:
A self-made prisoner, with me;
While many a wild bird sang around,
On gate, on bush, on tree:
In her far sweeter voice than all;
Till birds, that loved to look on leaves,
Will doat on a stone wall.
This little gold, this lovely mate,
With health in body, peace at heart—
Show me a man more great.