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Poems of Rural Life in the Dorset Dialect

by William Barnes. Third Collection

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TIMES O' YEAR.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

TIMES O' YEAR.

Here did swäy the eltrot flow'rs,
When the hours o' night wer vew,
An' the zun, wi' eärly beams
Brighten'd streams, an' dried the dew,
An' the goocoo there did greet
Passers by wi' dowsty veet.
There the milkmäid hung her brow
By the cow, a-sheenèn red;
An' the dog, wi' upward looks,
Watch'd the rooks above his head,
An' the brook, vrom bow to bow,
Here went swift, an' there wer slow.

57

Now the cwolder-blowèn blast,
Here do cast vrom elems' heads
Feäded leaves, a-whirlèn round,
Down to ground, in yollow beds,
Ruslèn under milkers' shoes,
When the day do dry the dews.
Soon shall grass, a-vrosted bright,
Glisten white instead o' green,
An' the wind shall smite the cows,
Where the boughs be now their screen.
Things do change as years do vlee;
What ha' years in store vor me?