Oh if it were not for my wife br And family increase, br How gladly would I close my life br In monastery peace! br A sweet and scented isle I know br Where monks in muteness dwell, br And there in sereness I would go br And seek a cell. br br On milk and oaten meal I'd live, br With carrot, kail and cheese; br The greens that tiny gardens give, br The bounty of the bees. br Then war might rage, I would not know, br Or knowing would not care: br No echo of a world of woe br Would irk me there. br br And I would be forgotten too br As mankind I forgot; br Read Shakespeare and the Bible through, br And brood in quiet thought. br Content with birds and trees and flowers br In mellow age to find br 'Mid monastery's holy hours br God's Peace of Mind.