Classic Poem

If I might spend
My hours with you, dear friend,
Care-free, at ease
To do what I should please,
And could dispose
My leisure as I chose,
The pomp and state
Of mansions of the great
Should we disown,
And law-courts' dreary drone,
All wordy strife,
And pride and show of life.
To drive or walk,
To bathe, enjoy a talk,
Toy with a book
Within some shady nook
Or portico
Where purling waters flow,
These should comprise
Our tasks if we were wise.
To you and me
Life is not full; we see
The good days fly
And, ah, how grievously
Their sum doth mount,
Set all to our account;
Why dally we
Who know what life should be?