The Gardener XLIII: No, My Friends

No, my friends, I shall never be an
ascetic, whatever you may say.
    I shall never be and ascetic if she
does not take the vow with me.
    It is my firm resolve that if I
cannot find a shady shelter and a
companion for my penance, I shall
never turn ascetic.
    No, my friends, I shall never leave
my hearth and home, and retire into
the forest solitude, if rings no merry
laughter in its echoing shade and if
the end of no saffron mantle flutters
in the wind; if its silence is not
deepened by soft whispers.
    I shall never be an ascetic.