Outside an inn, one sits, with half a cider but
Feels full of Coniston peace
The lake, the duck riding the shore wave for fun, the sun glinting
The coffee and shower
Of a new b&b at mid day
The rushing idyllic river under the bridge
A warm inn with wood beams
These are the things a day should fill
Not the desk, the PC, the email.
Oh if we had heard Ruskin and neglected
MISTER Adam Smith
What an England we could have made
Can a middle way exist?
Is it one or the other?
Is it a nation of the TV minded workers?
Verses simple pleasures?
Did we pay too higher a price for a high pile of pins
Made in a day
I am rather happy to have had this email, about this poem. : Dear Jason, Many thanks for sharing your poem with us. I guess just as you reflect, Ruskin saw both the world we were making and the world we were losing and feared for us being unable to keep the balance and that is why it hurt him so much. Your poem catches this so well. With all best wishes, Howard Howard Hull Director, The Ruskin Foundation & The Brantwood Trust Brantwood
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
An illustrated card version of this poem has been accepted by the shop at Brantwood for resale. Poetry seems a lot about putting the right thing in the right place.