"Far From the Madding Crowd"

"It seems to me I'd like to go
Where bells ne'er ring or whistles blow;

Where clocks ne'er strike and gongs ne'er sound,
But where there's stillness all around.

Not real still stillness-just the trees'
Low whisperings or the croon of bees;

The drowsy tinkling of the rill,

Or twilight song of the whippoorwill.

'Twould be a joy could I behold
The dappled fields of green and gold,

Or in the cool, sweet clover lie
And watch the cloud-ships drifting by.

I'd like to find some quaint old boat,
And fold its oars, and with it float

Along the lazy, limpid stream
Where water-lilies drowse and dream.

Sometimes it seems to me I must
Just quit the city's din and dust,

For fields of green and skies of blue;
And say! how does it seem to you?"

~Nixon Waterman