| Padraic Colum (1881–1972). Anthology of Irish Verse. 1922. |
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| 97. On An Ill-Managed House |
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| By Jonathan Swift |
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| LET me thy properties explain: | |
| A rotten cabin dropping rain: | |
| Chimneys, with scorn rejecting smoke; | |
| Stools, tables, chairs, and bedsteads broke. | |
| Here elements have lost their uses, | 5 |
| Air ripens not, nor earth produces: | |
| In vain we make poor Sheelah toil, | |
| Fire will not roast, nor water boil. | |
| Through all the valleys, hills, and plains, | |
| The Goddess Want, in triumph reigns: | 10 |
| And her chief officers of state, | |
| Sloth, Dirt, and Theft, around her wait. | |
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