THREE ACRES AND A COW

“I hear thee speak of a bit o’ land,

And a cow for every laboring hand;

Tell me, dear mother, where is that shore

Where I shall find it and work no more?

Is it at home this promised ground

Where the acres three and a cow are found?

Is it where pheasants and partridges breed?

Or in fields where the farmer is sowing his seed?

Is it on the moors so wild and grand

I shall find this bit of arable land?”

“Not there! Not there, my Giles!”

“Eye hath not seen that fair land, my child,

Ear hath but heard an echo wild –

The nightmare of an excited brain,

That dreamers have, like Chamberlain.

Far away, beyond the ken

Of sober, practical businessmen;

Far away beyond the sight

Of men whose heads are screwed on right;

Where castles in the air do stand,

Behold the cow and the bit of land!

‘Tis there! ‘Tis there, my Giles!”

–      Anon