WISHES FOR WILLIAM These things I wish you for our friendship's sake -- A sunburnt thatch, a door to face the sun At westering, the noise of homing rooks; A kind, old lazy chair, a courtly cat To rub against your knees; Shelves of well-chosen books; I wish you these. I wish you friends whose wisdom makes them kind, Well-leisured friends to share your evening's peace, Friends who can season knowledge with a laugh; A hedge of lavender, a patch of thyme, With sage and marjoram and rosemary, A damask rosebush and a hive of bees, And cabbages that hold the morning dew, A blackbird in the orchard boughs - all these, And -- God bless you. Children, no matter whose, to watch for you With flower faces at your garden gate, And one to watch the clock with eager eyes, Saying: "He's late -- he's late." -- Winifred M. Letts (born 1882)