We should have a land of sun, 
Of gorgeous sun, 
And a land of fragrant water
Where the twilight is a soft bandanna handkerchief 
Of rose and gold, 
And not this land
Where life is cold. 
We should have a land of trees, 
Of tall thick trees, 
Bowed down with chattering parrots
Brilliant as the day, 
And not this land where birds are gray. 
Ah, we should have a land of joy, 
Of love and joy and wine and song, 
And not this land where joy is wrong. 
This poem is in the public domain. Published in Poem-a-Day on June 19, 2021, by the Academy of American Poets.