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John Clare: The Midsummer Cushion

Edited by R. K. R. Thornton & Anne Tibble
Clare, John (1793-1864)

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THE MIDSUMMER CUSHION
 
[dedication]
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TO THE RURAL MUSE
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TALES
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POEMS
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BALLADS & SONGS
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SONNETS

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442

THE INSTINCT OF HOPE

Is there another world for this frail dust
To warm with life & be itself again
Somthing about me daily speaks there must
& why should instinct nourish hopes in vain
Tis natures prophecy that such will be
& every thing seems struggling to explain
The close sealed volume of its mystery
Time wandering onward keeps its usual pace
As seeming anxious of eternity
To meet that calm & find a resting place
Een the small violet feels a future power
& waits each year renewing blooms to bring
& surely man is no inferior flower
To die unworthy of a second spring
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