Where the linen is crisp, and the cake moist,
Where tea and china compete for delicacy,
Unto that tea shop, let my city awake.
Where the service is not malodorous
Nor the corners dusty
Where opinions are not thrust upon one
With the arrogance of knowledge received
Into that heaven of tearooms, let my city awake
Where quiet service
Is matched by elegant clientele
Where simple excellence rules
Where demands need no voice
For quiet care comes before needs arise
Into that heaven of competence, let me awake.
Where luxury may be a virtue
Of manners seeking a price
And yet manners prevail
By simple human device
Where we are led forward
By care and competence combined
Into that heaven of excellence, let my dreams awake
With apologies to Kobiguru Rabindranath Tagore
With dreams that seek his.
For those who seek his original poem, here it is:
Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high
Where knowledge is free
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments
By narrow domestic walls
Where words come out from the depth of truth
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way
Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit
Where the mind is led forward by thee
Into ever-widening thought and action
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.
A delight.
kaaaaaash!
It’s so lovely, your version.