 | The Poems of John Clare |  |
368
MORRIS DANCERS
Deckt out in ribbons gay and papers cutFine as a maiden's fancies, off they strut
And act the morris dance from door to door;
Their highest gain's a penny, nothing more.
The children leave their toys to see them play,
And laughing maidens lay their work away.
The stolen apple in her apron lies
To give her lover in his gay disguise.
E'en the old woman leaves her knitting off
And lays the bellows in her lap to laugh.
Upon the floor the stool-made wagons lie,
And playing scholars lay the lesson by.
The cat and dog in wonder run away
And hide beneath the table from the play.
| The Poems of John Clare | |