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Monday, November 8, 2010

London, 1802 by William Wordsworth

O friend! I know not which way I must look
For comfort, being, as I am, opprest
To think that now our life is only drest
For show—mean handiwork of craftsman, cook,
Or groom!—We must run glittering like a brook
In the open sunshine, or we are unblest;
The wealthiest man among us is the best.
No grandeur now in nature or in book
Delights us. Rapine, avarice, expense,
This is idolatry; and these we adore—
Plain living and high thinking are no more.
The homely beauty of the good old cause
Is gone; our peace, our fearful innocence,
And pure religion breathing household laws.

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