Theme and Variation

Based on a beautiful verse by Oscar Wilde.

I never saw a man who looked
With such a wistful eye
Upon that little tent of blue
Which prisoners call sky.

I never found a man who walked
With such a thankful heart
Upon the sacred sea of green
Which sailors call the grass.

I never knew a man admire
Within so dark a room
That silver coin above the earth
Which pirates call the moon.

I never met a man who breathed
With smile half as fair
That ocean of sweet oxygen
Which colliers call the air.

I never watched a woman dream
So still or blissful of
All the little trumpet-tunes
The lonely do call love.

The moon, the air, the grass, the sky
God gave to me and thee
But gives them more to all of those
Who cannot feel or see.