 | John Clare: The Midsummer Cushion |  |
THE FIRETAILS NEST
Tweet pipes the Robin as the cat creeps byeHer nestling young that in the elderns lie
& then the Bluecap tootles in its glee
Picking the flies from orchard apple tree
& Pink the Chaffinch cries its well known strain
Urging its kind to utter pink again
While in a quiet mood hedge sparrows trie
An inward stir of shadowed melody
—Around the rotten tree the firetail mourns
As the old hedger to his toil returns
Chopping the grain to stop the gap close bye
The hole where her blue eggs in safety lie
Of every thing that stirs she dreameth wrong
& pipes her “tweet tut” fears the whole day long
| John Clare: The Midsummer Cushion | |