When Earth’s last picture is painted
And the tubes are twisted and dried,
When the oldest colours have faded
And the youngest critic has died,
We shall rest, and, faith, we shall need it –
Lie down for an aeon or two,
Till the Master of All Good Workmen
Shall put us to work anew.
And those that were good shall be happy;
They shall sit in a golden chair;
They shall splash at a ten-league canvas
With brushes of comets’ hair.
They shall find real saints to draw from –
Magdalene, Peter, and Paul;
They shall work for an age at a sitting
And never be tired at all!
And only The Master shall praise us
And only The Master shall blame;
And no one shall work for money
And no one shall work for fame.
But each for the joy of the working
And each, in his separate star
Shall draw the Thing as he sees it
For the God of Things as They are!