Disillusioned

For ten long years I plodded through the vale of lust and strife,
Then through my dreams there flashed a ray of the old sweet peaceful life

No scarlet-tasselled hat of state can vie with soft repose;
Grand mansions do not taste the joys that the poor man's cabin knows.
I hate the threatening clash of arms when fierce retainers throng,
I loathe the drunkard's revels and the sound of fife and song;
But I love to seek a quiet nook, and some old volume bring
Where I can see the wild flowers bloom and hear the birds in spring.