Moist Cake, Crisp Napkins

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.