YE little gods with whom I dwell, Companions of my poverty, Who contemplate with friendly eye My easy chair, my hermit cell, My bed the hue of Carmelite, My wardrobe made of walnut bright! O my Penates! household gods, Whose cherished presence safety bodes! If I have never for your sake Grudged ample feast of dainty cake, For you have poured libations meet, Of milk, wine, honey pure and sweet, Then guard my door with faithful care, Watch every hinge, and bolt and bar; Not lest some burglar in should break, For what on earth is there to take? No treasures lodge in my abode, I need no escort on the road; One only modest prayer I make: That competence may with us stay, And virtue never 'scape away. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...OLD IRONSIDES by OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES SONG OF THE SILENT LAND by JOHANN GAUDENZ VON SALIS-SEEWIS THE YOUNG GRAY HEAD by CAROLINE ANNE BOWLES SOUTHEY GOD'S DETERMINATIONS: THE JOY OF CHURCH FELLOWSHIP RIGHTLY ATTENDED by EDWARD TAYLOR CALIBAN IN THE COAL MINES by LOUIS UNTERMEYER THE EMPTY BOTTLE by WILLIAM EDMONSTOUNE AYTOUN LIFE'S CURTAIN by EMMA MAGIN BISSELL |