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The later poems of John Clare

1837-1864 ... General editor Eric Robinson: Edited by Eric Robinson and David Powell: Associate editor Margaret Grainger
Clare, John (1793-1864)

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Volume I
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Volume II
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KNIGHT TRANSCRIPTS VOLUME TWO
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THE LAST SIX POEMS
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POEMS FROM BAKER'S GLOSSARY
  
[Where the deer with their shadows passed swifter than thought]
  
[How beautiful May and its morning comes in!]
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Quotations from Baker's Glossary

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SONG

[I would not feign a single sigh]

1

I would not feign a single sigh
Nor weep a single tear for thee
The soul within these orbs burns dry
A desert spreads where love should be
704

I would not be a worm to crawl
A wreathing suppliant in thy way
For love is life, is heaven and all
The beams of an immortal day

2

For sighs are idle things, and vain
And tears for idiots vainly fall
I would not kiss thy face again
Nor round thy shining slippers crawl
Love is the honey not the bee
Nor would I turn its sweets to gall
For all the beauty found in thee
Thy lily neck, rose cheek and all

3

I would not feign a single tale
Thy kindness or thy love to seek
Nor sigh for Jenny of the vale
Her ruby smile or rosy cheek
I would not have a pain to own
For those dark curls, and those bright eyes
A frowning lip, a heart of stone
False love and folly I despise
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