Christopher Morley

Here you will find the Poem Our House of poet Christopher Morley

Our House

IT should be yours, if I could build 
The quaint old dwelling I desire, 
With books and pictures bravely filled 
And chairs beside an open fire, 
White-panelled rooms with candles lit- 
I lie awake to think of it!

A dial for the sunny hours, 
A garden of old-fashioned flowers- 
Say marigolds and lavender 
And mignonette and fever-few, 
And Judas-tree and maidenhair 
And candytuft and thyme and rue- 
All these for you to wander in.

A Chinese carp (called Mandarin) 
Waving a sluggish silver fin 
Deep in the moat: so tame he comes 
To lip your fingers offering crumbs. 
Tall chimneys, like long listening ears, 
White shutters, ivy green and thick, 
And walls of ruddy Tudor brick 
Grown mellow with the passing years.

And windows with small leaded panes, 
Broad window-seats for when it rains; 
A big blue bowl of pot pourri 
And-yes, a Spanish chestnut tree 
To coin the autumn's minted gold. 
A summer house for drinking tea- 
All these (just think!) for you and me.

A staircase of the old black wood 
Cut in the days of Robin Hood, 
And banisters worn smooth as glass 
Down which your hand will lightly pass; 
A piano with pale yellow keys 
For wistful twilight melodies, 
And dusty bottles in a bin- 
All these for you to revel in!

But when? Ah well, until that time 
We'll habit in this house of rhyme.