 | The Poems of John Clare |  |
352
THE PACKMEN
Close by the road the traveller set his cartAnd clogged his horse's feet in journey slow,
The ploughman's horses made a sudden start
And snorted loud to see the fire below;
And there they sat and hid them from the shower,
From many a weary mile through thick and thin,
And ate their meals and rested many an hour
And found a pleasant bed at night within;
And in the morning by the break of day
Left the broke hedge and drove their house away.
And panniered asses with an hungry eye
Snatched the tall thistle as they wandered by.
They travel over England far and wide
And rarely in the balanced panniers ride.
| The Poems of John Clare | |