The later poems of John Clare 1837-1864 ... General editor Eric Robinson: Edited by Eric Robinson and David Powell: Associate editor Margaret Grainger |
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A WISH |
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 | The later poems of John Clare |  |
640
A WISH
1
I wish I was the bonny thrushThat in the hazel sings
Hid i' the crimpt leaved stoven bush
Where blue the air bell springs
I wish I was the little flower
Beneath the mossy tree
I might enjoy one happy hour
A creeping strawberry
2
I hate to hear the vulgar crowdThe language of the vain
I'd sooner stiffen in a shroud
Upon the battle plain
My garden then would gather weeds
My children look and sigh
The tear drops on the book I read
While I in prison lie
3
I wish I was the garden peaBeneath the cottage thatch
That I my childrens joy might see
And all their pleasures watch
Or butterfly upon the wing
Their little sports to help
The sweetest birds that ever sing
Are their house sparrows chelp
641
4
While they laid down their little headsI'd sleep in blebs o' dew
And hear them talking in their beds
The starry season through
And see them in the morning charm
Stand 'mong the flowers so cool
And take their baskets on their arm
And creep like snails to school
5
O I would be an insectIn woods and thickets lone
An idle thing of solitude
To lewder life unknown
Hid in the bosom of a flower
Its lifetime there to dwell
Eternity would seem an hour
And I'd be resting well
| The later poems of John Clare | |