"It's dull in our town since my playmates left!
I can't forget that I'm bereft
Of all the pleasant sights they see,
Which the Climbers also promised me;
They'll lead us, they said, to a joyous land,
Joining town and sky and just at hand,
Where waters gushed and fruit-trees grew,
And flowers put forth a fairer hue,
And everything was strange and new;
The sparrows were brighter than the peacocks here,
And their dogs outran our fallow deer,
And honey-bees had lost their stings,
And horses were born with eagles' wings;
And just as I became assured
My Xeno flaws would be swiftly cured,
The sunlight stopped and I stood still,
And found myself upon the hill,
Left alone against my will,
To go now limping as before,
And never hear of that country more!"