– 32 –

Controversy

There is perpetual contention
Between the guardian of the dwelling house and the demesne.

Shall the garden be a paradise,
And the inside of the cottage a shambles?

Or contrariwise, the garden a wilderness,
While we preserve the image of a Dutch interior?

While one cries out “The wash-up waits!”
The other murmurs wistfully “The lawns! the lawns!”

Tell me now, what is your dream—
The neatest apartment in Knightsbridge?
Or in a deep glade of Eden a booth of green boughs?