The later poems of John Clare 1837-1864 ... General editor Eric Robinson: Edited by Eric Robinson and David Powell: Associate editor Margaret Grainger |
 | I. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| NORTHAMPTON MANUSCRIPT 19 |
|
|
|
|
|
| 1. |
| II. |
|
|
| I. |
| II. |
|
|
| 1. |
| 2. |
| 3. |
| 4. |
| 5. |
| 6. |
| 7. |
| 8. |
| 9. |
| 10. |
| 11. |
| 12. |
| 13. |
| 14. |
| 15. |
| 16. |
| 17. |
| 18. |
| 19. |
| 20. |
| 21. |
| 22. |
| 23. |
| 24. |
| 25. |
| 26. |
| 27. |
| 28. |
| 29. |
| 30. |
| 31. |
| 32. |
 | The later poems of John Clare |  |
161
NORTHAMPTON MANUSCRIPT 19
‘O for a Lodge in some vast wilderness
Some boundless contiguity [of] shade
Where rumour of oppression & deciet
Of unsuccessful or successful war
Might never reach me more.’
Cowper
Some boundless contiguity [of] shade
Where rumour of oppression & deciet
Of unsuccessful or successful war
Might never reach me more.’
Cowper
[& in the maple bush there hides the style]
& in the maple bush there hides the style& then the gate the awthorn stands before
Till close upon't you cannot see't the while
Tis like to Ivy creeping oer a door
& green as spring nor gap is seen before
& still the path leads on—till neath your hand
The gate waits to be opened—& then claps—the sower
Scatters the seeds of spring beneath his hand
& then the footpath tracks the elting land
162
SONG
[The Fruit is fair to luik upo']
The Fruit is fair to luik upo'
& the flower is fair to see
But my ain flower wi' her sweet clais on
Is the sweetest gem for me
The flower's o' garden's & o' fields
Right bonny flowers may be
The fruit o' orchards flower's o' brae's
Are na' sae sweet to me
She beets them a' in sunday claes
There's na' sich like on bauks & braes
& the flower is fair to see
But my ain flower wi' her sweet clais on
Is the sweetest gem for me
The flower's o' garden's & o' fields
Right bonny flowers may be
The fruit o' orchards flower's o' brae's
Are na' sae sweet to me
She beets them a' in sunday claes
There's na' sich like on bauks & braes
Her gown is red & white & blue
The tartan rainbow coloured shade
Her face is roses blushing true
& lilys grow beneath the plaid
Her waist a single arm may span
Her ancle gimp her leg sae bra'
A proper angel for a man
Her foot the smallest o' the sma'
There's na sick like in sunday claes
On scotlands birks & scotlands braes
The tartan rainbow coloured shade
Her face is roses blushing true
& lilys grow beneath the plaid
Her waist a single arm may span
Her ancle gimp her leg sae bra'
A proper angel for a man
Her foot the smallest o' the sma'
There's na sick like in sunday claes
On scotlands birks & scotlands braes
I've travelled scotland three times oer
& the flower upo' the heather know
I never saw the like before
By hill or flood or birkenshaw
There's fruits & flower's in mony a glen
But o' the like they've nane to show
She beats them oer & oer agen
The maid upo' the heather know
She beats them a' when i' her sunday clais
Theres nae sic like on bauks or brae's
& the flower upo' the heather know
I never saw the like before
By hill or flood or birkenshaw
There's fruits & flower's in mony a glen
But o' the like they've nane to show
She beats them oer & oer agen
The maid upo' the heather know
She beats them a' when i' her sunday clais
Theres nae sic like on bauks or brae's
163
[Land of perpetual summer Italy]
Land of perpetual summer Italy
Land of the golden City of the sun
Cradle of Europes Empire—but for thee
The rest were darkness & perpetual dun
Celestial clime & garden of the sun
Country of Virgil Hessiod—once the free
Latium & Greece both kingdoms of the sun
Their infant cradles rocked by Liberty
& still the sunniest Land is Italy
Land of the golden City of the sun
Cradle of Europes Empire—but for thee
The rest were darkness & perpetual dun
Celestial clime & garden of the sun
Country of Virgil Hessiod—once the free
Latium & Greece both kingdoms of the sun
Their infant cradles rocked by Liberty
& still the sunniest Land is Italy
Greece Land of Homer & the muses fire
How nations read & kindle at thy name
The freemans sword the poets native lyre
Have filled thy history with a classic fame
& is not Greece that Land of Isles the same
The sun shines oer its freedom & wars cease
The despots chains near made it stoop to shame
Its hills & classic sky's repose in peace
& freedom owns it as the soil of Greece
How nations read & kindle at thy name
The freemans sword the poets native lyre
Have filled thy history with a classic fame
& is not Greece that Land of Isles the same
The sun shines oer its freedom & wars cease
The despots chains near made it stoop to shame
Its hills & classic sky's repose in peace
& freedom owns it as the soil of Greece
164
SANG
[I sit upo' a simmer bank]
I sit upo' a simmer bank
To view the flower sae bloomin'
I think my sweetheart may cum bye
& she's a luvley woman
Her sunday gown's gat yellow flowers
Her sunday gown's gat green
& she's gat twa three sunday gowns
The sweetest e'er war seen
To view the flower sae bloomin'
I think my sweetheart may cum bye
& she's a luvley woman
Her sunday gown's gat yellow flowers
Her sunday gown's gat green
& she's gat twa three sunday gowns
The sweetest e'er war seen
Her cheeks are like the buddin' rose
Her face the rose fu' blown
Her lukes are what a' natur' knows
I think her heart my ain
I wish she'd cum amang the flowers
& be a flower her sell
I'd press her in these hartsum hours
& luv' her beauty well
Her face the rose fu' blown
Her lukes are what a' natur' knows
I think her heart my ain
I wish she'd cum amang the flowers
& be a flower her sell
I'd press her in these hartsum hours
& luv' her beauty well
Her bonnet is a hat o' strae
Which village maids adorn
Not ane o' mayday seemed sae bra'
She had it new at morn
The ribbons they war green & blue
& naethin luked sae sweet
Ane colour spring the tuther true
Her smiles I luvd to greet
Which village maids adorn
Not ane o' mayday seemed sae bra'
She had it new at morn
The ribbons they war green & blue
& naethin luked sae sweet
Ane colour spring the tuther true
Her smiles I luvd to greet
I wish that she wud wanner bye
Amang the flowers & bee's
She'd in this arbour see me lie
The place war sure to please
I see her now i' gown o' green
I' fancies happy e'e—
Strae hat the sweetest e'er was seen
I wish she'd wanner bye
Amang the flowers & bee's
She'd in this arbour see me lie
The place war sure to please
I see her now i' gown o' green
I' fancies happy e'e—
Strae hat the sweetest e'er was seen
I wish she'd wanner bye
165
[Infants are but cradles for the grave]
Infants are but cradles for the grave& death the nurse as soon as life begins
Time keeps accounts books for him & they save
Expences for his funeral out of sins
The stone is not put down—but when death wins
Churchyards are chronicles where all sleep well
The gravestones there as afterlives live in
Go search the Scriptures they will plainly tell
That God made heaven—Man himself the hell
[There is a chasm in the heart of man]
There is a chasm in the heart of manThat nothing fathoms like a gulph at sea
A depth of darkness lines may never span
A shade unsunned in dark eternity
Thoughts without shadows—that eye can see
Or thought imagine tis unknown to fame
Like day at midnight such its youth to me
At ten years old it boyhoods secret came
Now manhoods forty past tis just the same
166
SONG
[She's like the daisey on the hill]
She's like the daisey on the hill
That upward turns his eye
As if he thought the small white clouds
Where daiseys in the sky
That upward turns his eye
As if he thought the small white clouds
Where daiseys in the sky
She is the wood Anemonie
Sae droopin' & sae true
In sic' like shades she luvs to be
Bloomin' in draps o' dew
Sae droopin' & sae true
In sic' like shades she luvs to be
Bloomin' in draps o' dew
She is the goud spink on the thorn
Sae lovley in her sang
She is the gouden light o' morn
As beautifull & young
Sae lovley in her sang
She is the gouden light o' morn
As beautifull & young
The richest chord of Poesy
The sweetest note they sing
She is the poets pleasant dreams
& every pleasant thing
The sweetest note they sing
She is the poets pleasant dreams
& every pleasant thing
The all thats beautifull & sweet
The all thats good & fair
Is my true lover when we meet
Where summers wild flowers are
The all thats good & fair
Is my true lover when we meet
Where summers wild flowers are
167
TEMPLE OF MINERVA
The ruin of a ruin—man of mirth
Pause oer the past & meditate decay
The very stones are perishing to earth
Foundations though alls left will waste away
Time's chissel on whats left still writes ‘Decay’
Which every season wrecks & wears away
Pause oer the past & meditate decay
The very stones are perishing to earth
Foundations though alls left will waste away
Time's chissel on whats left still writes ‘Decay’
Which every season wrecks & wears away
A shadow it was present—but tis past
Time sickened & lifes nature met decay
Convulsive winds seemed sobbing out their last
When ruins piecemeal Temple past away
The very stones like clay dissolving lye
& solitude half fearing learns to sigh
Time sickened & lifes nature met decay
Convulsive winds seemed sobbing out their last
When ruins piecemeal Temple past away
The very stones like clay dissolving lye
& solitude half fearing learns to sigh
See'st thou the steps of yesterday
The night before the last
See'st thou when darkness went away
& daylight winnowed past
The present is—& shadows are
What was so very bright & fair
The night before the last
See'st thou when darkness went away
& daylight winnowed past
The present is—& shadows are
What was so very bright & fair
168
Spring meadow flowers—was suns & joy
Of present happiness
But when the summer filled the sky
All was another dress
They changed to seed among the hay
& dyed when summer went away
Of present happiness
But when the summer filled the sky
All was another dress
They changed to seed among the hay
& dyed when summer went away
[Now evenings rosey streaks—a ribbond sky]
Now evenings rosey streaks—a ribbond skySpreads in the golden light of the far west
& mighty rocks are pillowed dark & high
The image & the prototype of rest
The heavens prophesy where peace is blest—
A stillness soft as fall of silent dews
Is felt around—the very dusk looks blest
As is the maiden while her heart pursues
Her evening walk oer fields in silent dews
Ave Maria tis the hour of love
When sighs & pains & tears on beautys breast
Are whispered into blessings from above
Ave Maria tis the hour of rest
For man & woaman & the weary beast
& parents love the minature delights
That blesses all with sleep & quiet rest
Ave Maria tis the hour of night
Like to an Indian Maiden dressed in white
169
[‘These two had been friends in Youth]
‘These two had been friends in Youth‘But slanderous Tongues will poison truth’
Now oceans roll between them twain
That never can heal up again
[The winter time is over love]
The winter time is over love
White thorns begin to bud
& brown & green of freshness love
Enlivens all the wood
White thorns begin to bud
& brown & green of freshness love
Enlivens all the wood
Theres white clouds got agen the sun
One daisey open on the green
The primrose shows its sulphur bud
Just where the hazel stulps are seen
One daisey open on the green
The primrose shows its sulphur bud
Just where the hazel stulps are seen
& ere the april time is out
Along the ridings gravel walk
The bedlam primrose blooms about
Wi' twenty blossoms on a stalk
Along the ridings gravel walk
The bedlam primrose blooms about
Wi' twenty blossoms on a stalk
How happy seems the drop of dew
That nestles in the daiseys eye
How blest the cloud seems in the blue
That near the sun appears to lie
That nestles in the daiseys eye
How blest the cloud seems in the blue
That near the sun appears to lie
170
How happy does thy shadows seem
That stretches oer the morning grass
They seeims to walk as in a dream
I know their shadows as they pass
That stretches oer the morning grass
They seeims to walk as in a dream
I know their shadows as they pass
The primrose over withered leaves
Now beautifully shines
[OMITTED]
[OMITTED]
Now beautifully shines
[OMITTED]
[OMITTED]
SONG
[I wish I was were I would be]
I wish I was were I would be
Alone with beauty & the free
I wish I was where I have been
A lover on the village green
Where old pits swell'd & mosses grew
Along with one who loved so true
Hath time made no changes then love is the same
Through calm & through danger dishonour & fame
What e'er I encounter what e'er I pursue
Human love may be frail—but mans honour is true
Alone with beauty & the free
I wish I was where I have been
A lover on the village green
Where old pits swell'd & mosses grew
Along with one who loved so true
Hath time made no changes then love is the same
Through calm & through danger dishonour & fame
What e'er I encounter what e'er I pursue
Human love may be frail—but mans honour is true
Canst thou feel what I breathed on thy bosom that eve
If thy love was a womans thoult ne'er disbelieve
But walk in thy fancys through meadow & glen
Aye walk & be happy & think it agen
There's the hills in thy fancy the Park in thy eye
& in midnight so guiltless that beautiful sky
& the stars looked upon us so lovely & warm
& thy own native star shed its beauty so calm
That said in bright colours love never should part
When I lay on thy bosom the man of thy heart
If thy love was a womans thoult ne'er disbelieve
But walk in thy fancys through meadow & glen
Aye walk & be happy & think it agen
There's the hills in thy fancy the Park in thy eye
& in midnight so guiltless that beautiful sky
& the stars looked upon us so lovely & warm
& thy own native star shed its beauty so calm
That said in bright colours love never should part
When I lay on thy bosom the man of thy heart
171
The prude may rail on love & falsehood declaim
Mock love is their liscence & falshood their fame
In abscence they scandalize wrong & decieve
& laugh at their fondness when women believe
But man never wronged them & Eden I see
Where man ever loved & a woman is free
Then leave me still free with thy love to be blest
On the bosom of woman my wishes are blest
Oer the hills & the hollows on that happy Eve
True love was the welcome that cannot decieve
Mock love is their liscence & falshood their fame
In abscence they scandalize wrong & decieve
& laugh at their fondness when women believe
But man never wronged them & Eden I see
Where man ever loved & a woman is free
Then leave me still free with thy love to be blest
On the bosom of woman my wishes are blest
Oer the hills & the hollows on that happy Eve
True love was the welcome that cannot decieve
SPRING
The sweet spring now is come'ng
In beautifull sunshine
Thorns bud & wild flowers blooming
Daisey & Celadine
Somthing so sweet there is about the spring
Silence is music ere the birds will sing
In beautifull sunshine
Thorns bud & wild flowers blooming
Daisey & Celadine
Somthing so sweet there is about the spring
Silence is music ere the birds will sing
And theres the hedgerow pootys
Blackbirds from mossy cells
Pick them where the last year's shoot is
Hedge bottoms & wood dells
Stript, spotted, yellow, red, to spring so true
For which the schoolboy looks with pleasures new
Blackbirds from mossy cells
Pick them where the last year's shoot is
Hedge bottoms & wood dells
Stript, spotted, yellow, red, to spring so true
For which the schoolboy looks with pleasures new
On gates the yellow hammer
As bright as Celadine
Sits—green linnets learn to stammer
& Robins sing divine
On brown land furrows stalks the crow
& magpies on the moor below
As bright as Celadine
Sits—green linnets learn to stammer
& Robins sing divine
On brown land furrows stalks the crow
& magpies on the moor below
172
In small hedged closes lambkins stand
Its cud the heifer chews
Like snow clumps upon fallow land
They shine among the Ewes
Or sheets of water by moonlight
The Lambkins shine so very white
Its cud the heifer chews
Like snow clumps upon fallow land
They shine among the Ewes
Or sheets of water by moonlight
The Lambkins shine so very white
The lane the narrow lane
With daisy beds beneath
You scarce can see the light again
Untill you reach the heath
Thorn hedges grow & meet above
For half a mile a green alcove
With daisy beds beneath
You scarce can see the light again
Untill you reach the heath
Thorn hedges grow & meet above
For half a mile a green alcove
The netles by garden walls
Stand angrily & dun
Summer on them like poison falls
& all their blossoms shun
The abby's haunted heaps of stone
Is by their treachery overgrown
Stand angrily & dun
Summer on them like poison falls
& all their blossoms shun
The abby's haunted heaps of stone
Is by their treachery overgrown
Theres verdure in the stony street
Decieving earnest eyes
The bare rock has its blossom's sweet
The micriscope espies
Flowers leaves & foliage every where
That cloaths the animated year
Decieving earnest eyes
The bare rock has its blossom's sweet
The micriscope espies
Flowers leaves & foliage every where
That cloaths the animated year
Fields meadows woods & pastures
Theres spring in every place
From winters wild disasters
All wear her happy face
Beast on their feet & birds upon the wing
The very clouds upon the sky look spring
Theres spring in every place
From winters wild disasters
All wear her happy face
Beast on their feet & birds upon the wing
The very clouds upon the sky look spring
173
Sunshine presses by the hedge
& there's the pileworts sure to come
The primrose by the rustling sedge
& largest cowslips first in bloom
All show that spring is every where
The flowery herald of the year
& there's the pileworts sure to come
The primrose by the rustling sedge
& largest cowslips first in bloom
All show that spring is every where
The flowery herald of the year
[The present is the funeral of the past]
The present is the funeral of the past& man the living sepulchre of life
Still in the past he lives—O would it last
In its own dreams of beauty where the strife
Of passion died—yet trouble ever rife
Dwells on its sweetest tones & harsh all sound
That chord that used to sound the name of wife
On life's jarred [music] now emits no sound
& sweetheart melodys youth lost are nowhere to be found
174
[Beautifull poetry I bow to thee]
Beautifull poetry I bow to thee
Here in the midst of winter & of dearth
I trace the sunny climes of Italy
& all the georgeous Edens upon earth
Far from the land that chilled my early birth
To Stambouls plains & rich perenial hours
Rich Turkey's climes & all the wealth of earth
O poesy thy unexausted powers
Gives me these summers of eternal flowers
Here in the midst of winter & of dearth
I trace the sunny climes of Italy
& all the georgeous Edens upon earth
Far from the land that chilled my early birth
To Stambouls plains & rich perenial hours
Rich Turkey's climes & all the wealth of earth
O poesy thy unexausted powers
Gives me these summers of eternal flowers
Sweet Italy & Turkey full as sweet
When shall I meet agen in heavens own eye
Those angels & those houris that would greet
My wanderings in romes hills & Stambouls sky
Where Eden in mans reach would bloom & lie
With woman's smiles about him on loves wing
Fluttered around me in the sweetest sky
Joy realized the love my memories sing
Beautys fond smile & loves eternal spring
When shall I meet agen in heavens own eye
Those angels & those houris that would greet
My wanderings in romes hills & Stambouls sky
Where Eden in mans reach would bloom & lie
With woman's smiles about him on loves wing
Fluttered around me in the sweetest sky
Joy realized the love my memories sing
Beautys fond smile & loves eternal spring
A FAVOURITE PLACE
Beautiful gravel walks overgrownwith moss & grass little places where
the poet sat to write
175
SONG LAST DAY
There is a day a dreadfull day
Still following the past
When sun & moon are past away
& mingle with the blast
There is a vision in my eye
A vacuum oer my mind
Sometimes as on the sea I lye
Mid roaring waves & wind
Still following the past
When sun & moon are past away
& mingle with the blast
There is a vision in my eye
A vacuum oer my mind
Sometimes as on the sea I lye
Mid roaring waves & wind
176
When valleys rise to mountain waves
& mountains sink to seas
When towns & cities temples graves
All vanish like a breeze
The skyes that was are past & oer
That almanack of days
Year chronicles are kept no more
Oblivions ruin pays
& mountains sink to seas
When towns & cities temples graves
All vanish like a breeze
The skyes that was are past & oer
That almanack of days
Year chronicles are kept no more
Oblivions ruin pays
Pays in destruction shades & hell
Sin goes in darkness down
& therein sulphurs shadows dwell
Worth wins & wears the crown
The very shore if shore I see
All shrivelled to a scroll
The Heaven's rend away from me
& thunders sulphurs roll
Sin goes in darkness down
& therein sulphurs shadows dwell
Worth wins & wears the crown
The very shore if shore I see
All shrivelled to a scroll
The Heaven's rend away from me
& thunders sulphurs roll
Black as the deadly thunder cloud
The stars shall turn to dun
& heaven by that darkness bowed
Shall make days light be done
When stars & skys shall all decay
& earth no more shall be
When heaven itself shall pass away
Then thou'lt remember me
The stars shall turn to dun
& heaven by that darkness bowed
Shall make days light be done
When stars & skys shall all decay
& earth no more shall be
When heaven itself shall pass away
Then thou'lt remember me
177
[The red bagged bee on never weary wing]
The red bagged bee on never weary wingPipe's his small trumpet round the early flowers
& the white nettles by the hedge in spring
Hears his low music all the sunny hours
Till clouds come on & leaves the falling showers
Herald of spring & music of wild blooms
It seems the minstrel of springs early flowers
On banks where the red nettle flowers it comes
& there all the long sunny morning hums
[When reason & religion goes a benting]
When reason & religion goes a bentingChristianity grows lean as specters—and
Pines off to somthing else—none seem repenting
But each get notions none else understand
Wives from their husbands pare off unrelenting
& like pined piegons mope about the land
Couple's awake go silently & dreaming
& love & faith & madness are but seeming
[Summer is on the earth & in the sky]
Summer is on the earth & in the sky
The days all sunny & the fields all green
The woods spread oer her hills a canophy
Of beautys harmony in every scene
Like to a map the fields & valleys lie
Winds dash in wildest motions the woods green
& every wave of leaves & every billow
Lies in the sun like Beauty on a pillow
The days all sunny & the fields all green
178
Of beautys harmony in every scene
Like to a map the fields & valleys lie
Winds dash in wildest motions the woods green
& every wave of leaves & every billow
Lies in the sun like Beauty on a pillow
There is a freshness in the leafy sprays
That dashes oer the forest from the wind
The wild sublimity of windy days
Like the rich thinkings of a master mind
Or dashes on the canvass none can find
In works inferior—when the woods all blaze
With a wild sunset & the winds unbind
Their foliage to the heavens wild amaze
Field meadow wood rolling oer stormy days
That dashes oer the forest from the wind
The wild sublimity of windy days
Like the rich thinkings of a master mind
Or dashes on the canvass none can find
In works inferior—when the woods all blaze
With a wild sunset & the winds unbind
Their foliage to the heavens wild amaze
Field meadow wood rolling oer stormy days
The roaring of the woods is like a sea
All thunder & comotion to the shore
The old oaks toss their branches to be free
& urge the fury of the storm the more
Louder then thunder is the sobbing roar
Of leafy billows to their shore the sky
Round which the bloodshot clouds like fields of gore
In angry silence did at anchor lie
As if the battles roar was not yet bye
All thunder & comotion to the shore
The old oaks toss their branches to be free
& urge the fury of the storm the more
Louder then thunder is the sobbing roar
Of leafy billows to their shore the sky
Round which the bloodshot clouds like fields of gore
In angry silence did at anchor lie
As if the battles roar was not yet bye
Anon the wind has ceased the woods are still
The winds are sobbed to sleep & all is rest
The clouds like solid rocks too jagged for hills
Lie quietly ashore upon the west
The cottage ceases rocking—each tired guest
Sleeps sounder for the heavy storm's uproar
—How calm the sunset blazes in the west
As if the waking storm would burst no more
& this still even seems more calmer than before
The winds are sobbed to sleep & all is rest
The clouds like solid rocks too jagged for hills
Lie quietly ashore upon the west
The cottage ceases rocking—each tired guest
179
—How calm the sunset blazes in the west
As if the waking storm would burst no more
& this still even seems more calmer than before
[Bluebells how beautifull & bright they look]
Bluebells how beautifull & bright they lookBowed oer green moss & pearled in morning dew
Shedding a shower of pearls as soon as shook
In every wood hedgegap they're shineing through
Smelling of spring & beautifully blue
—Childhood & Spring how beautifully dwells
Their memories in the woods we now walk through
O balmy days of spring in white thorn dells
How beautifull are woods & their bluebells
SONG
[Tis spring my love tis spring]
Tis spring my love tis spring
& the birds begin to sing
If twas winter left alone with you
Your happy form & face
Would make a sunny place
& prove a finer flower then ever grew
& the birds begin to sing
If twas winter left alone with you
180
Would make a sunny place
& prove a finer flower then ever grew
Tis spring my love tis spring
On the hazels catkins hing
& the snow drop wi' blebs o' dew
Is not more white within
Then your bosoms hidden skin
The sweetest bonny flower that ever grew
On the hazels catkins hing
& the snow drop wi' blebs o' dew
Is not more white within
Then your bosoms hidden skin
The sweetest bonny flower that ever grew
The suns arose from bed
All strewn with roses red
But the brightest crimson place
Is nought so fresh & fair
Or so lovely to compare
As thy blushing bonny face
All strewn with roses red
But the brightest crimson place
Is nought so fresh & fair
Or so lovely to compare
As thy blushing bonny face
I love springs early flowers
& their bloom in her first hours
They never half so bright or lovely seem
They are like the happy grace
Of young womans blushing face
& the green happiness of loves young dream
& their bloom in her first hours
They never half so bright or lovely seem
They are like the happy grace
Of young womans blushing face
& the green happiness of loves young dream
181
[The sinking sun sheds through the window glass]
The sinking sun sheds through the window glassA roseiate light upon the painted walls
Green looks the trees cornfields & meadow grass
As golden on the road the low sun falls
Loud at their play the citys childern calls
And happy minds seek green spots in the fields
Ere yet the heavy dew of evening falls
While the lone partridge to their ramble calls
SONG
[My bonny Mary Ann]
My bonny Mary Ann
My winsome Mary Ann
The sweetest thing in natures plan
Is my ain true love Mary Ann
Sae bonny is her witching size
Sae pretty is her rosey face
Sae red her lips sae bright her eyes
She's mans delight in ony place
My winsome Mary Ann
The sweetest thing in natures plan
Is my ain true love Mary Ann
Sae bonny is her witching size
Sae pretty is her rosey face
Sae red her lips sae bright her eyes
She's mans delight in ony place
O the bonny Mary Ann
Slender waste & proper size
O the luvly Mary Ann
Cherry cheeks & sparkling eyes
Nay never turn those smiles away
Thy frowns will turn me crazy
Thou kingcup of the sunny may
Thou bonny April daisy
Slender waste & proper size
O the luvly Mary Ann
Cherry cheeks & sparkling eyes
Nay never turn those smiles away
Thy frowns will turn me crazy
Thou kingcup of the sunny may
Thou bonny April daisy
182
My bonny Mary Ann
My charming Mary Ann
The sweetest thing in natures plan
Is my ain true love Mary Ann
The thing that I shud like the best
In natures sweetest plan
Is luv' in Islands of the blest
Wi' bonny Mary Ann
My charming Mary Ann
The sweetest thing in natures plan
Is my ain true love Mary Ann
The thing that I shud like the best
In natures sweetest plan
Is luv' in Islands of the blest
Wi' bonny Mary Ann
A cozey place with Mary Ann
Ne'er haunted by the foot o' man
But blest with natures choicest plan
Me & my bonny Mary Ann
Her cherry cheeks & proper size
Her luiks that turn frae idle man
I'll worship nature in her eyes
& ever luv' my Mary Ann
Ne'er haunted by the foot o' man
But blest with natures choicest plan
Me & my bonny Mary Ann
Her cherry cheeks & proper size
Her luiks that turn frae idle man
I'll worship nature in her eyes
& ever luv' my Mary Ann
My bonny dearest Mary Ann
Soft neck & breasted like a swan
Thy cherry cheeks aye beat the wan
My rosey bonny Mary Ann
I pu' a flower & think o' thee
I cant contrary natures plan
The sweetest flower maist dear to me
Is my ain bonny Mary Ann
Soft neck & breasted like a swan
Thy cherry cheeks aye beat the wan
My rosey bonny Mary Ann
I pu' a flower & think o' thee
I cant contrary natures plan
The sweetest flower maist dear to me
Is my ain bonny Mary Ann
183
SONG
[The Larks in the sky love]
The Larks in the sky love
The flowers on the lea
The white thorn's in bloom love
To please thee & me
Neath its shade we can rest love
& sit on the hill
& as we met last love
Enjoy the spring still
The flowers on the lea
The white thorn's in bloom love
To please thee & me
Neath its shade we can rest love
& sit on the hill
& as we met last love
Enjoy the spring still
The spring is for lovers
The spring is for joy
Oer the moor where the plovers
Wir hover & cry
We'll seek the white thorn love
& sit on the hill
On some sunny morn love
& be lover's still
The spring is for joy
Oer the moor where the plovers
Wir hover & cry
We'll seek the white thorn love
& sit on the hill
On some sunny morn love
& be lover's still
Where the partridge is craiking
From morning to e'en
In the wheatlands awaking
That sprouts young & green
Where the brook dribbles past love
Down the willowy glen
& as we met last love
Be lovers agen
From morning to e'en
In the wheatlands awaking
That sprouts young & green
Where the brook dribbles past love
Down the willowy glen
& as we met last love
Be lovers agen
184
The larks in the grass love
A building her nest
& the brook runs like glass love
Neath the carrion crows nest
There the wild woodbines twine love
& till the days gone
Sun sets & stars shine love
I'll call thee my own
A building her nest
& the brook runs like glass love
Neath the carrion crows nest
There the wild woodbines twine love
& till the days gone
Sun sets & stars shine love
I'll call thee my own
SONG
[Theres pleasure on the pasture lea]
Theres pleasure on the pasture lea
& peace within the cottage
But theres na peace at a' for me
While love is in its dotage
& peace within the cottage
But theres na peace at a' for me
While love is in its dotage
I never have a thought o' gude
But worser thoughts will soil it
When heaven is man's happiest mood
The deil is sure to spoil it
But worser thoughts will soil it
When heaven is man's happiest mood
The deil is sure to spoil it
Mans sweetest choice is womans yet
Scenes where her kiss was granted
The choicest place where first they met
Mid flowers bye nature planted
Scenes where her kiss was granted
The choicest place where first they met
Mid flowers bye nature planted
185
& there they dwell in fancys flights
In valley field & glen
In pleasant dreams & heart delights
Till neist they meet agen
In valley field & glen
In pleasant dreams & heart delights
Till neist they meet agen
SONG
[The bird cherrys white in the dews o' the morning]
The bird cherrys white in the dews o' the morning
The wildings are blushing along the hedgeside
The gold blossomed furze the wild heaths are adorning
& the brook in the hollow runs light by my side
But where is the charmer the voice of the maiden
Whose presence once charmed me the whole summers day
The bushes wi' gold & wi' silver oerlaiden
Looks cold i' the morning when Phebe's away
The wildings are blushing along the hedgeside
The gold blossomed furze the wild heaths are adorning
& the brook in the hollow runs light by my side
But where is the charmer the voice of the maiden
Whose presence once charmed me the whole summers day
The bushes wi' gold & wi' silver oerlaiden
Looks cold i' the morning when Phebe's away
The sun rises bright oer the oaks in the spinney
Bringing gold unto gold on the winbushes there
Blossoming bright as a new minted guinea
& moist wi' the mist of the morns dewy air
The flower is bowed down & I let the tired Bee be
All wet wi' night dew & unable to flye
Such a kindness in me would be pleasure to Phebe
A poor trampled Insect would cause her to sigh
Bringing gold unto gold on the winbushes there
Blossoming bright as a new minted guinea
& moist wi' the mist of the morns dewy air
The flower is bowed down & I let the tired Bee be
All wet wi' night dew & unable to flye
Such a kindness in me would be pleasure to Phebe
A poor trampled Insect would cause her to sigh
The white thorn is coming wi' bunches of blossoms
The broad sheets of daiseys spread out on the lea
The bunches of cowslips spread out their gold bosoms
While the oak balls appear on the old spinney tree
Come forward my Phebe wi' dews of the morning
By the old crooked brook let thy early walk be
Where the brambles arched stalks—glossy leaves are adorning
& bits o' woo' hang on the bark o' the tree
The broad sheets of daiseys spread out on the lea
The bunches of cowslips spread out their gold bosoms
While the oak balls appear on the old spinney tree
186
By the old crooked brook let thy early walk be
Where the brambles arched stalks—glossy leaves are adorning
& bits o' woo' hang on the bark o' the tree
Come forward my Phebe by times in the morning
Come forward my Phebe in blebs o' the dew
They bead the young cowslip like pearls i' the dawning
& we'll mark the young shower where the green linnet flew
I'll court thee & woo thee from morning to e'ening
Where the primrose looks bright in the ivy's dark green
& the oak oer the brook in its white bark is leaning
There let me & Phebe wi' morning be seen
Come forward my Phebe in blebs o' the dew
They bead the young cowslip like pearls i' the dawning
& we'll mark the young shower where the green linnet flew
I'll court thee & woo thee from morning to e'ening
Where the primrose looks bright in the ivy's dark green
& the oak oer the brook in its white bark is leaning
There let me & Phebe wi' morning be seen
[Tall grows the nettle by the hedgeway side]
Tall grows the nettle by the hedgeway side& bye the old barn end they shade the wall
In sunshine nodding to the angry tide
Of winds that winnows bye—these one & all
Makes up the harmony of Spring—& all
That passes feel a sudden love for flowers
They look so green—& when the soft showers fall
They grow so fast—Dock Burdocks Henbane—all
Who loves not wild flowers bye the old stone wall
187
VERSES ON ONLEY
A charm is thrown oer Olney plainsBy Cowper's rural muse
While sunshine gilds the river Ouse
In morning's meadow dews
SALLY FRISBY
Song
Sally Frisby's fair & bonny
Frae the bosom to the feet
Rose & lily there's not ony
Half sae fair & half sae sweet
As hedge woodbine's streaks o' red
Bonny Sally's far more dear
Her healthy hue o' white & red
Is like the rose upo' the brere
Frae the bosom to the feet
Rose & lily there's not ony
Half sae fair & half sae sweet
As hedge woodbine's streaks o' red
Bonny Sally's far more dear
Her healthy hue o' white & red
Is like the rose upo' the brere
Bonny Sally blooming Sally
Fairest flower of a' the town
I' the woodbine lane to dally
& walk wi' Sally up & down
The woodbine to the summer dear
Is nothing half sae sweet
The hue of roses on the brere
Turns pale thy face to meet
Fairest flower of a' the town
I' the woodbine lane to dally
& walk wi' Sally up & down
188
Is nothing half sae sweet
The hue of roses on the brere
Turns pale thy face to meet
There is a colour on thy cheek
A brightness in thy eye
Twere vain in any flower to seek
Or any painted sky
There is a rose upon thy cheek
Not found on any tree
There is a ruby on thy lip
Not found in either sea
A brightness in thy eye
Twere vain in any flower to seek
Or any painted sky
There is a rose upon thy cheek
Not found on any tree
There is a ruby on thy lip
Not found in either sea
Dew drops that upon heath bells lye
Their colour shining through
Is just the hue o' thy bright eye
& half as luvly too
We'll wander down the pebbly brook
Where clearest waters dally
& hide us i' the ‘clover nook’
Myself & beautious Sally
Their colour shining through
Is just the hue o' thy bright eye
& half as luvly too
We'll wander down the pebbly brook
Where clearest waters dally
& hide us i' the ‘clover nook’
Myself & beautious Sally
SONG
[How sweet the happy evening hails]
How sweet the happy evening hails
The fields as sinks the sun
While leans the maid agen the rails
Where clear the waters run
A bonny maid with eyes as sweet
As beams o' e'ening sun
A bonny maid & dressed as neat
As sweethearts when they're won
The fields as sinks the sun
While leans the maid agen the rails
Where clear the waters run
A bonny maid with eyes as sweet
As beams o' e'ening sun
A bonny maid & dressed as neat
As sweethearts when they're won
189
The hedges by the e'ening sun
Was gilt in every place
But the sweetest look that e'er was won
Was in her bonny face
In gown o' pink & hat o' straw
How sweet the maid did seem
Her face as round as ony ba'
Her bosom fair as cream
Was gilt in every place
But the sweetest look that e'er was won
Was in her bonny face
In gown o' pink & hat o' straw
How sweet the maid did seem
Her face as round as ony ba'
Her bosom fair as cream
How white her hands how very white
Like angels hands they be
The sweetest thing that e'enings light
Has ever brought to me
She stood agen the fountains head
& leaned agen the rails
The setting sun was going to bed
& gilding all the vales
Like angels hands they be
The sweetest thing that e'enings light
Has ever brought to me
She stood agen the fountains head
& leaned agen the rails
The setting sun was going to bed
& gilding all the vales
I passed the maid a flower o' grace
That did my fancys strike
The rose it blossomed in her face
No garden owns the like
Her gown o' pink her hat o' straw
Have won my fancy clean
She is the fairest o' them a'
The maid I met at een
That did my fancys strike
The rose it blossomed in her face
No garden owns the like
Her gown o' pink her hat o' straw
Have won my fancy clean
She is the fairest o' them a'
The maid I met at een
190
OUNDLE PHEBE
My bonny blooming Oundle Lassie
More beautifull then Hebe
Let's wander in the meads sae grassy
My bonny bluiming Oundle Phebe
The beautifull & true my love
The beautifull & true
Are in that rosey face my love
& those bright eyes o' blue
More beautifull then Hebe
Let's wander in the meads sae grassy
My bonny bluiming Oundle Phebe
The beautifull & true my love
The beautifull & true
Are in that rosey face my love
& those bright eyes o' blue
They're brighter then a bleb o' dew
On the rose leaves underside
That tremble as the wind blows through
Brighter then ony thing beside
I never saw a fairer face
E'er since the days of Hebe
The sweetest flower o' ony place
Is beautys pastoral Phebe
On the rose leaves underside
That tremble as the wind blows through
Brighter then ony thing beside
I never saw a fairer face
E'er since the days of Hebe
The sweetest flower o' ony place
Is beautys pastoral Phebe
O my bonny rosey Phebe
Beautifull as greece's Hebe
Bright-eyed pastoral blooming Phebe
O my blooming bonny Phebe
Had I the world the land & sea
I'd gi' it wi' myself to Phebe
My queen & goddess she shud be
The bright & beautious Phebe
Beautifull as greece's Hebe
Bright-eyed pastoral blooming Phebe
O my blooming bonny Phebe
Had I the world the land & sea
I'd gi' it wi' myself to Phebe
My queen & goddess she shud be
The bright & beautious Phebe
191
I snatch the bell flower frae the dew
Frae woods the valleys lily
Thy bosom had the selfsame hue
When I stood shally shilly
Beside thee by the bright green thorn
A gazing upo' Phebe
The sweetest rose bud o' the morn
Art thou my lovely Phebe
Frae woods the valleys lily
Thy bosom had the selfsame hue
When I stood shally shilly
Beside thee by the bright green thorn
A gazing upo' Phebe
The sweetest rose bud o' the morn
Art thou my lovely Phebe
I look upo' the heat o' day
I look upo' the dawning
The morning red the e'ening grey
The blooming & adorning
The gouden plumage o' the dove
Is not sae bright as Phebe
The pink o' a' the warld's luv
Is fascinating Phebe
I look upo' the dawning
The morning red the e'ening grey
The blooming & adorning
The gouden plumage o' the dove
Is not sae bright as Phebe
The pink o' a' the warld's luv
Is fascinating Phebe
TO SORROW
‘Sorrow is my joy’
Beautifull Sorrow in thy silence thouArt more then beautifull—not charms of youth
A rosey skin or lily painted brow
Can match thy looks thou beautiful in truth
Rebeccas faith warm with the love of Ruth
Leave heavens sunshine on thy thoughtfull brow
Thou beautifull of sorrow & of truth
Hideing no secret sin no broken vow
While in thy raven hair white snow drops glow
192
SONG
[O beautifull Sorrow]
O beautifull Sorrow
Joys shadow divine
Where day canna borrow
Nae sunbeams to shine
I think that the shadow
'Maist beats the sunbeam
Thy face it looks gladder
In sorrowfull dreams
Joys shadow divine
Where day canna borrow
Nae sunbeams to shine
I think that the shadow
'Maist beats the sunbeam
Thy face it looks gladder
In sorrowfull dreams
I think the pale shadow
Of beauty more dear
Then the beautifull blushes
Of roseys when near
Thou beautifull sorrow
How warmer & fair
Then the bunch of cold snow drops
In thy raven hair
Of beauty more dear
Then the beautifull blushes
Of roseys when near
Thou beautifull sorrow
How warmer & fair
Then the bunch of cold snow drops
In thy raven hair
Thou'rt a beautifull sorrow
Of fancys & dreams
Where the gloomy tomorrow
The darkest day seems
Where the snow drops may wither
That nae sunlight can borrow
Where the sunshine come hither
My beautifull Sorrow
Of fancys & dreams
Where the gloomy tomorrow
The darkest day seems
Where the snow drops may wither
That nae sunlight can borrow
Where the sunshine come hither
My beautifull Sorrow
With thy hair like the raven
A' glossy & black
Thy bosom o' snow drops
& bonny broad back
My luv is in shadows
Where no one can borrow
Real joy makes me sadder
My pleasure is sorrow
A' glossy & black
Thy bosom o' snow drops
& bonny broad back
193
Where no one can borrow
Real joy makes me sadder
My pleasure is sorrow
SONG
[There is a feeling nought can calm]
There is a feeling nought can calm
A passion nought can quell
The mention of a sweethearts name
That fond thoughts dare not tell
To know thee thus my dearest maid
& then to part in twain
The thunder making earth affraid
Will smile upon the main
A passion nought can quell
The mention of a sweethearts name
That fond thoughts dare not tell
To know thee thus my dearest maid
& then to part in twain
The thunder making earth affraid
Will smile upon the main
The just may fall by thunder shocks
That never knew a crime
& earthquakes rend the lonely rocks
That upward used to climb
But love fond love that wedlock ties
Each other as their own
Then choked to tears & stifled sighs
& petrified to stone
That never knew a crime
& earthquakes rend the lonely rocks
That upward used to climb
But love fond love that wedlock ties
Each other as their own
Then choked to tears & stifled sighs
& petrified to stone
For thee dear maid I touch the strings
& keep my heart awake
Tis simple truth the ballad sings
That love will not forsake
& stubborn are the hands that strike
The chords to melody
That loved the many all alike
With a double love for thee
& keep my heart awake
Tis simple truth the ballad sings
That love will not forsake
194
The chords to melody
That loved the many all alike
With a double love for thee
Thy pedigree & titles high
As shadows pass away
& that fine face & brighter eye
Must also meet decay
But love that warmed us at the first
Can live & love alone
Nor ever die bye fate accursed
Though petrified to stone
As shadows pass away
& that fine face & brighter eye
Must also meet decay
But love that warmed us at the first
Can live & love alone
Nor ever die bye fate accursed
Though petrified to stone
[The thunder mutters louder & more loud]
The thunder mutters louder & more loudWith quicker motion hay folks ply the rake
Ready to burst slow sails the pitch black cloud
& all the gang a bigger haycock make
To sit beneath—the woodland winds awake
The drops so large wet all thro' in an hour
A tiney flood runs down the leaning rake
In the sweet hay yet dry the hay folks cower
& some beneath the waggon shun the shower
195
SONG
[O aince I loved the lily]
O aince I loved the lily
As the first & fairest flower
& aince I luved the rose
On simmers hedge row bower
& I luv'd the white thorn bower
Clad softly green at spring
But sweeter then the flower
Is my luv' Mary King
As the first & fairest flower
& aince I luved the rose
On simmers hedge row bower
& I luv'd the white thorn bower
Clad softly green at spring
But sweeter then the flower
Is my luv' Mary King
I luved her in her childhood
In sorrow & in joy
Red as blossoms i' the wildwood
& brown as any boy
As the linnet luv's its young
I' the green leaves o' the spring
So I've often said & sung
Of my true luv' Mary King
In sorrow & in joy
Red as blossoms i' the wildwood
& brown as any boy
As the linnet luv's its young
I' the green leaves o' the spring
So I've often said & sung
Of my true luv' Mary King
Sae I've often said & sung
When her links o' flaxen hair
Oer her fair shoulders hung
& her little breast was bare
I luved her more & more
Till she got a fair young thing
Fond & tender as before
Was the bonny Mary King
When her links o' flaxen hair
Oer her fair shoulders hung
& her little breast was bare
I luved her more & more
Till she got a fair young thing
Fond & tender as before
Was the bonny Mary King
196
& now she's ripe & blooming
I' the prime o' rosey may
& her bosoms luv' untombing
Bursts lace & pins away
‘All sueing to be prest’
White as snow drops o' the spring
Love warms the lily breast
O sweet bonny Mary King
I' the prime o' rosey may
& her bosoms luv' untombing
Bursts lace & pins away
‘All sueing to be prest’
White as snow drops o' the spring
Love warms the lily breast
O sweet bonny Mary King
My bonny Mary King
Ripe & rosey Mary King
Sweetest flower o' a' the spring
Is my ain true luv' Mary King
Sae I luv' her night & day
A ripe & bonny thing
Till lifes sands waste away
Young handsome Mary King
Ripe & rosey Mary King
Sweetest flower o' a' the spring
Is my ain true luv' Mary King
Sae I luv' her night & day
A ripe & bonny thing
Till lifes sands waste away
Young handsome Mary King
[O Woman lovely woman how beguiling]
O Woman lovely woman how beguilingIs thy sweet voice of music & thy smiles
Thy cheeks all roses & thy lips all smileing
& where's the treachery that thy heart beguiles
For thy sweet self man labours sweats & toils
Mines the whole earth & raviges the deep
For thee the summer in its glory smiles
Yet ‘Man was made to mourn’ & women weep
& briars & thorns as harvests both must reap
197
SONG
[Sweet Susan Chaplin was a maid]
Sweet Susan Chaplin was a maid
That I loved late & early
When down the wheatfield path we strayed
Or 'mong the shocks o' barley
O Susan Chaplin was the maid
That I loved late & early
That I loved late & early
When down the wheatfield path we strayed
Or 'mong the shocks o' barley
O Susan Chaplin was the maid
That I loved late & early
My Kildare's bonny Susan
With her glossy raven hair
Wi'out her theres nae chusing
Or joy or pleasure mair
Sae I loved my bonny Susan
With the glossy raven hair
With her glossy raven hair
Wi'out her theres nae chusing
Or joy or pleasure mair
Sae I loved my bonny Susan
With the glossy raven hair
Thy eyes the mirrors brightness
Or brooks that show the sky
Thy neck the lilys whiteness
Thy lips like rubys lye
A kissing ane anither
She's the diamond in my eye
Or brooks that show the sky
Thy neck the lilys whiteness
Thy lips like rubys lye
A kissing ane anither
She's the diamond in my eye
Her cheeks are like the rosey flower
Then aiblins like the lily
She's gloomy in a lonely hour
Then tricksome as a filly
Of Kildare she's the rosey bower
& syine the snow white Lily
Then aiblins like the lily
She's gloomy in a lonely hour
Then tricksome as a filly
Of Kildare she's the rosey bower
& syine the snow white Lily
198
Sweet Susan is the girl for me
My bright & bonny Susan
She's slender as a poplar tree
My bonny black eyed Susan
There's but ain only chusing
While I'm making love to thee
My bright & bonny Susan
She's slender as a poplar tree
My bonny black eyed Susan
There's but ain only chusing
While I'm making love to thee
[Poets & Poesy are aspirations]
Poets & Poesy are aspirationsOf minds superior to the common lot
The light & life & ornament of nations
That leave no writing they could wish to blot
Time mossed in centurys finds them unforgot
Green with the leaves of laurel & the bay
The poets dwelling is a sacred spot
Where pilgrims love when ages pass away
The low mossed cot—the steeple crack'd & grey
SONG
[The winter stays till e'en & the spring it canna cum]
The winter stays till e'en & the spring it canna cum
& every cannie bud is nipt up before the bloom
The winter winna gae & it stays a day oer lang
Sae the flowers they canna blossom & the birdies get nae Sang
& every cannie bud is nipt up before the bloom
The winter winna gae & it stays a day oer lang
Sae the flowers they canna blossom & the birdies get nae Sang
199
The young & cannie maiden canna gang by her ain gate
But brazen ruffian winter mun teaze her suin & late
Her gown to shun the dirt oft leaves her ancle bare
For her gown it is the best & her ony sabbath ware
But brazen ruffian winter mun teaze her suin & late
Her gown to shun the dirt oft leaves her ancle bare
For her gown it is the best & her ony sabbath ware
Then brazen ruffian winter begins his bawdry sang
& calls her foul & filthy names & does her mickle wrang
But I loo to see her ancle & I loo to see her gown
Held up by her lily hand when rains are dripping doon
& calls her foul & filthy names & does her mickle wrang
But I loo to see her ancle & I loo to see her gown
Held up by her lily hand when rains are dripping doon
& if I see her bonny cauf it sets me in a bleeze
The pillars o' king Salomon are nat sae sweet as these
But winter blites wi' chilblains where love would leave a kiss
& woman lovely woman is ever used amiss
The pillars o' king Salomon are nat sae sweet as these
But winter blites wi' chilblains where love would leave a kiss
& woman lovely woman is ever used amiss
The winter stays till e'en & the spring it canna get
There's near a way for maids to gaing & neer a blossom yet
There's ne'er a wa' for womans gate luik which a wa we will
Yet still I loo a' woman kind & winna do her ill
There's near a way for maids to gaing & neer a blossom yet
There's ne'er a wa' for womans gate luik which a wa we will
Yet still I loo a' woman kind & winna do her ill
I winna wrang a woman for the best bluid in my veins
I winna wrang a woman till the last of life remains
Though the spring it canna cum & the winter winna gang
I maun luv' aye worship woman in every tale & sang
I winna wrang a woman till the last of life remains
Though the spring it canna cum & the winter winna gang
I maun luv' aye worship woman in every tale & sang
[Look through the naked bramble & black thorn]
Look through the naked bramble & black thorn& see the arum show its vivid green
Glossy & rich & some ink spotted like the morn
Ing sky with clouds—in sweetest neuks Ive been
200
Full of spring visions & green thoughts o' may
Dead leaves a' litter where its leaves are seen
Broader & brighter green from day to day
Beneath the hedges in their leafless spray
[Here is the scenes the rural poet made]
Here is the scenes the rural poet madeSo famous in his songs—the very scenes
He painted in his words that warm & shade
In winters wild waste & springs young vivid greens
Alcove & shrubbery—& the tree that leans
With its oerweight of Ivy—Yardley oak
The peasants nest & fields of blossomed beans
The bridge & avenue of thick set oak
The wilde[r]ness—here Cowpers spirit spoke
THE AWTHORN
I love the awthorn well
The first green thing
In woods & hedges—black thorn dell
Dashed with its green first spring
When sallows shine in golden shene
These white thorn places in the black how green
The first green thing
In woods & hedges—black thorn dell
Dashed with its green first spring
When sallows shine in golden shene
These white thorn places in the black how green
201
How beautifully green
Though March has but begun
To tend primroses planted in the sun
The roots thats further in
Are not begun to bud or may be just begun
Though March has but begun
To tend primroses planted in the sun
The roots thats further in
Are not begun to bud or may be just begun
I love the white thorn bough
Hung over the mole hill
Where the spring feeding cow
Rubs off the dew drop chill
When on the cowslip pips & glossy thorn
The dews hang shining pearls at early morn
Hung over the mole hill
Where the spring feeding cow
Rubs off the dew drop chill
When on the cowslip pips & glossy thorn
The dews hang shining pearls at early morn
SONG
[Theres a little odd house by the side of the Lane]
Theres a little odd house by the side of the Lane
Where the daisy smiles sweet in the spring
Where the morning sun glitters like gold on the pane
& the hedge Sparrow trembles his wing
Where chaffinch green linnet & Sparrows have tones
That make the green Lane & the cottage their own
Where the daisy smiles sweet in the spring
Where the morning sun glitters like gold on the pane
& the hedge Sparrow trembles his wing
Where chaffinch green linnet & Sparrows have tones
That make the green Lane & the cottage their own
The sparrows they chirp & make nests i' the eaves
The chaffinch sings ‘pink’ in the hedge o' white thorn
That fences the garden & there the bird weaves
A nest of grey lichen soon as light i' the morn
& there bonny Susan will sit at the door
& see the green linnet at work at its nest
Where the robin flyes in for a crumb on the floor
& seems as if longing to sit on her breast
The chaffinch sings ‘pink’ in the hedge o' white thorn
That fences the garden & there the bird weaves
A nest of grey lichen soon as light i' the morn
& there bonny Susan will sit at the door
& see the green linnet at work at its nest
Where the robin flyes in for a crumb on the floor
& seems as if longing to sit on her breast
202
SONG
[Come dwell with me]
Come dwell with me
Neath the green wood tree
& nature will teach thee plain
That peace & health is liberty
We nowhere else shall gain
Come dwell with me
Neath the green wood tree
Where life is not spent in vain
Neath the green wood tree
& nature will teach thee plain
That peace & health is liberty
We nowhere else shall gain
Come dwell with me
Neath the green wood tree
Where life is not spent in vain
Come where the wilding blows
Like the hedge dog rose
With its pale & pinky stain
Where the hugh oak rocks
While the tempest blows
Come dwell with me
Neath the hugh oak tree
Where nature no ill bestows
Like the hedge dog rose
With its pale & pinky stain
Where the hugh oak rocks
While the tempest blows
Come dwell with me
Neath the hugh oak tree
Where nature no ill bestows
Full green is the spring
& thrushes they sing
In the hazle & maple tree
Come to the green wood
& twill set thy heart free
In such a still place to be
With all thats beautifull & good
& thrushes they sing
In the hazle & maple tree
Come to the green wood
& twill set thy heart free
In such a still place to be
With all thats beautifull & good
203
[I love the little pond to mark at spring]
I love the little pond to mark at springWhen frogs & toads are croaking round its brink
When blackbirds yellow bills gin first to sing
& green woodpecker rotten trees to clink
I love to see the cattle muse & drink
& water crinkle to the rude march wind
While two ash dotterels flourish on its brink
Bearing key bunches children run to find
& water buttercups they're forced to leave behind
SPRING
Pale sun beams gleam
That nurtur a few flowers
Pile wort & daisey & a sprig o' green
On white thorn bushes
In the leaf strewn hedge
That nurtur a few flowers
Pile wort & daisey & a sprig o' green
On white thorn bushes
In the leaf strewn hedge
These harbingers
Tell spring is coming fast
& these the schoolboy marks
& wastes an hour from school
Agen the old pasture hedge
Tell spring is coming fast
& these the schoolboy marks
& wastes an hour from school
Agen the old pasture hedge
204
Cropping the daisey
& the pile wort flowers
Pleased with the Spring & all he looks upon
He opes his spelling book
& hides her blossoms there
& the pile wort flowers
Pleased with the Spring & all he looks upon
He opes his spelling book
& hides her blossoms there
Shadows fall dark
Like black in the pale Sun
& lye the bleak day long
Like black stock under hedges
& bare wind rocked trees
Like black in the pale Sun
& lye the bleak day long
Like black stock under hedges
& bare wind rocked trees
Tis chill but pleasant
In the hedge bottom lined
With brown seer leaves the last
Year littered there & left
Mopes the hedge Sparrow
In the hedge bottom lined
With brown seer leaves the last
Year littered there & left
Mopes the hedge Sparrow
With trembling wings & cheeps
Its welcome to pale sunbeams
Creeping through & further on
Made of green moss
The nest & green blue eggs are seen
Its welcome to pale sunbeams
Creeping through & further on
Made of green moss
The nest & green blue eggs are seen
All token spring & every day
Green & more green hedges & close
& every where appears
Still tis but March
But still that March is Spring
Green & more green hedges & close
& every where appears
Still tis but March
But still that March is Spring
205
[The wind blows happily on every thing]
The wind blows happily on every thing
The very weeds that shake beside the fold
Bowing they dance—do any thing but sing
& all the scene is lovely to behold
Blue mists of morning evenings of gold
How beautifull the wind will play with spring
Flowers beam with every colour light beholds
Showers oer the Landscape flye on wet pearl wings
& winds stir up unnumbered pleasant things
The very weeds that shake beside the fold
Bowing they dance—do any thing but sing
& all the scene is lovely to behold
Blue mists of morning evenings of gold
How beautifull the wind will play with spring
Flowers beam with every colour light beholds
Showers oer the Landscape flye on wet pearl wings
& winds stir up unnumbered pleasant things
I love the luscious green before the bloom
The leaves & grass & even beds of moss
When leaves gin bud & spring prepares to come
The Ivys evergreen the brown green gorse
Plots of green weeds that barest roads engross
In fact I love the youth of each green thing
The grass the trees the bushes & the moss
That pleases little birds & makes them sing
I love the green before the blooms of spring
The leaves & grass & even beds of moss
When leaves gin bud & spring prepares to come
The Ivys evergreen the brown green gorse
Plots of green weeds that barest roads engross
In fact I love the youth of each green thing
The grass the trees the bushes & the moss
That pleases little birds & makes them sing
I love the green before the blooms of spring
206
[Sorrow is felt not seen—the grief of verse]
Sorrow is felt not seen—the grief of verseIs writ by those who share not in our pain
The pawl embrodered & the sable hearse
Are symbols not of sorrow but of gain
What of the scutcheoned hearse & pawl remain
When all is past—there sorrow is no more
Sorrows heart aches—& burning scars will stain
As morning dews—as april showers is oer
Some tears fall on their graves again
KATHARINE AIRLIE
O a' the flowers o' scottish land
Oer hill & valley blooming
There's nane that has the worlds command
& looks sae sweet as woman
She is the pink of each paterre
Though three times doubled fairley
& war they sweeter then they are
They'd not match Cathrine Airlie
Oer hill & valley blooming
There's nane that has the worlds command
& looks sae sweet as woman
207
Though three times doubled fairley
& war they sweeter then they are
They'd not match Cathrine Airlie
Ive often trod the scottish dells
& clomb her mountains high
Where bush & tree upon the fells
Touched the cieling of the sky
& maids I've a'maist seen them a'
& talked baith late & early
But fews sae fair & nane sae bra'
As bonny Catharine Airlie
& clomb her mountains high
Where bush & tree upon the fells
Touched the cieling of the sky
& maids I've a'maist seen them a'
& talked baith late & early
But fews sae fair & nane sae bra'
As bonny Catharine Airlie
O bonny is the gowan blue
Beneath the Lammie's claie's
& never bluimed a flower mair true
On vales or mountain braes
To catch the dew & tell the spring
With showers that sprinkle's early
But nae flower fanned by birdies wing
Can match with Katharine Airly
Beneath the Lammie's claie's
& never bluimed a flower mair true
On vales or mountain braes
To catch the dew & tell the spring
With showers that sprinkle's early
But nae flower fanned by birdies wing
Can match with Katharine Airly
Mair fair then lilies o' the vale
Mair sweet then roses are
That bluims in bonny Teviotdale
Theres ne'er a rose sae fair
As is her sweet & bonny face
The like is seen but rarely
There's near a rose in ony place
Like bonny Katharine Airlie
Mair sweet then roses are
That bluims in bonny Teviotdale
Theres ne'er a rose sae fair
As is her sweet & bonny face
The like is seen but rarely
There's near a rose in ony place
Like bonny Katharine Airlie
Sae lang as scotland hills are green
& vallies pour their floods
Sae lang as nature's soveriegn queen
Oer mountains plains & woods
Sae lang the lily o' the land
The flower o' late & early
The dearest flower in loves command
Is my sweet Katharine Airlie
& vallies pour their floods
Sae lang as nature's soveriegn queen
Oer mountains plains & woods
208
The flower o' late & early
The dearest flower in loves command
Is my sweet Katharine Airlie
[False time what is it but a rogues account]
False time what is it but a rogues accountOf books wrong kept—times keystone is the sun
True natures wronged—& what is the amount
But deaths diseases—that their circuit run
Through error & through deeds that fate has done
Religion is the health—the suns bright ray
By which the goal of Love & Freedoms won
The oceans tide will flow its natural way
& none its speed & none its course will stay
THE NORTH STAR
There is a Star I know it well
Sun of the northern sky
That cheers the hermits lonely cell
Like heavens unerring eye
Twas there a thousand thousand years
& still in the same place appears
Sun of the northern sky
That cheers the hermits lonely cell
Like heavens unerring eye
Twas there a thousand thousand years
& still in the same place appears
209
The other stars they flye about
Like lights lit in a cell
Lit up awhile & then put out
There's none knows where they dwell
But where God lit thou'rt shining still
A Lamp of heaven's eternal will
Like lights lit in a cell
Lit up awhile & then put out
There's none knows where they dwell
But where God lit thou'rt shining still
A Lamp of heaven's eternal will
The compass to the problem true
As sun is to the day
The even star that gems the dew
Take's day's last light away
Yet shines in heaven no stationed space
But wanes & others take her place
As sun is to the day
The even star that gems the dew
Take's day's last light away
Yet shines in heaven no stationed space
But wanes & others take her place
But there thou wert when Noahs ark
Its shoreless voyage went
Just where thourt stealing from the dark
Like tapers from a tent
& there thou wert at Waterloo
In the same place as now I view
Its shoreless voyage went
Just where thourt stealing from the dark
Like tapers from a tent
& there thou wert at Waterloo
In the same place as now I view
When Moses stood on Sions hight
Thy light was faithfull then
& thy beams shed unerring light
On sons of lesser men
The same as on that glorious night
When Israel slew th'Amelakites
Thy light was faithfull then
& thy beams shed unerring light
On sons of lesser men
The same as on that glorious night
When Israel slew th'Amelakites
Thou lone & solitary star
A lamp oer oceans pathless brine
Beacon to those who travel far
Upon this hemisphere is thine
Such light is by religion given
To light our blinded way to heaven
A lamp oer oceans pathless brine
Beacon to those who travel far
Upon this hemisphere is thine
210
To light our blinded way to heaven
[All nature has a feeling wood fields brooks]
All nature has a feeling wood fields brooksAre life eternal—& in silence they
Speak happiness—beyond the reach of books
There's nothing mortal in them—their decay
Is the green life of change to pass away
& come again in blooms revifified
Its birth was heaven eternal is its stay
& with the sun & moon shall still abide
Beneath their night & day & heave[n] wide
TWILIGHT
Twilight meek nurse of dews
& mother of refreshing births to flowers
Sweet now a walk to chuse
& roam in thy cool hours
To be an hour away unseen of men
In the green lane or white thorn studded glen
& mother of refreshing births to flowers
Sweet now a walk to chuse
& roam in thy cool hours
To be an hour away unseen of men
In the green lane or white thorn studded glen
Sweet twilight swarth or pale meek nurse of dews
Mother of sweet sleep to many flowers
The birth of dewwebbed breezes that imbues
Our hearts to meditation in sweet hours
Sweet twilight nurse of sleep
In watchet stole & web of sober grey
Mother of sweet sleep to many flowers
The birth of dewwebbed breezes that imbues
Our hearts to meditation in sweet hours
Sweet twilight nurse of sleep
In watchet stole & web of sober grey
211
[Old times forgetfull memories of the past]
Old times forgetfull memories of the pastAre cold & drear as snow upon our graves
In books less then a shadows doom will last
But Fragments there each stranded volume saves
Like some rich gems washed up from ocean waves
But now no summer dwells upon the spot
Nor flower to blossom—the eternal blast
Oblivion leaves the earth in which they rot
Darkness in which the very lights forgot
[Where are the citys Sodom & Gomorrah]
Where are the citys Sodom & GomorrahThe marble pallaces upon the plain
Citys to day & a dead sea tomorrow
& what they was they ne'er will be again
That earth is lost & all its city slain
By the oerwhelming waves entombed & gone
Search for its ruins now is void & vain
& but one witness saw that ruin done—
The ever burning bright eternal Sun
212
SANG
[Twas just when early springs begin]
Twas just when early springs begin
To open daiseys eyes agin
& shaw the gouden light wi'in
Upon a sunny mornin'
To open daiseys eyes agin
& shaw the gouden light wi'in
Upon a sunny mornin'
Twas just when buds will swell to shoot
& buddin' primrose at the root
Begins to show its sulphur suit
All on the dewy morning
& buddin' primrose at the root
Begins to show its sulphur suit
All on the dewy morning
& violets peep afore the dawn
Upon woodbanks beneath the thorn
Ere yet a single leaf is born
To shield the chilly morning
Upon woodbanks beneath the thorn
Ere yet a single leaf is born
To shield the chilly morning
I saw a maid i mornin's grey
Upon her misty milkin' way
When dead grass tufts & naked spray
Bent wi' the weet o' mornin'
Upon her misty milkin' way
When dead grass tufts & naked spray
Bent wi' the weet o' mornin'
As ony flower her face was fair
& had the rose i' june been there
There's bin nout in it to compare
Wi' her I met that mornin'
& had the rose i' june been there
There's bin nout in it to compare
Wi' her I met that mornin'
213
There may be many flowers a bloomin'
& monie mair wi' simmer comin'
The sweetest that I cau'd a woman
Upon that dewy mornin'
& monie mair wi' simmer comin'
The sweetest that I cau'd a woman
Upon that dewy mornin'
& may the smiles o' heaven keep it
& may the dews o' april steep it
& nought on earth ha' cause to weep it
The flower o' april mornin'
& may the dews o' april steep it
& nought on earth ha' cause to weep it
The flower o' april mornin'
‘Blessed be thy bloom thou lovely gem
Unscathed by ruffian hand
& from thee many a happy stem
Arise to deck our land’
Unscathed by ruffian hand
& from thee many a happy stem
Arise to deck our land’
Burns
[& what is Love the sweetest of all pains]
& what is Love the sweetest of all pains
Yet teazing more then madness to the mind
It wants no setoffs garniture or gains
Better acceptance in the heart to find
On lily breasts & rosey mouths love binds
Its image which no power on earth can free
Though called inconstant as the shifting winds
Tis Truth on earth as heaven itself can be
I've felt it ever since I loved Haidee
Yet teazing more then madness to the mind
It wants no setoffs garniture or gains
Better acceptance in the heart to find
On lily breasts & rosey mouths love binds
214
Though called inconstant as the shifting winds
Tis Truth on earth as heaven itself can be
I've felt it ever since I loved Haidee
Haidee the lovliest of all thats loved
The venus of young life the poets dreams
A vision of the mind by all approved
A beauty of the heart that all esteems
Where all is beautifull—theres no part seems
Diviner—all is best—none better—Haidee's real
—Angels are good mens hopes & poets dreams
Haidee is flesh & blood—with eyes that steal
Man from himself—love's soul beneath Gods seal
The venus of young life the poets dreams
A vision of the mind by all approved
A beauty of the heart that all esteems
Where all is beautifull—theres no part seems
Diviner—all is best—none better—Haidee's real
—Angels are good mens hopes & poets dreams
Haidee is flesh & blood—with eyes that steal
Man from himself—love's soul beneath Gods seal
Those turband roses vide Turkish girls
How shaped & young & beautifull they are
All garnitured in rubies gold & pearls
The lilies whiteness even is not fair
Beside their lovliness—but droop despair
& sicken in their sunshine—there love dwells
The houris's of Eden—long dark hair
& wreathing tresses loves bewitching spells
& ‘large black eyes like pearls hid in their shells’
How shaped & young & beautifull they are
All garnitured in rubies gold & pearls
The lilies whiteness even is not fair
Beside their lovliness—but droop despair
& sicken in their sunshine—there love dwells
The houris's of Eden—long dark hair
& wreathing tresses loves bewitching spells
& ‘large black eyes like pearls hid in their shells’
215
[‘The Lord of the daybreak’ soars on high
& turns the grecian sea to mirrourd gold
Like Edens round the grecian Islands lie
Where seasons green & beautifull unfold
Thy smiles are charms that turned all to gold]
& turns the grecian sea to mirrourd gold
Like Edens round the grecian Islands lie
Where seasons green & beautifull unfold
Thy smiles are charms that turned all to gold]
[When once thy smile is seen what else may seem
So beautifull—for nought more loved could be
Then thou in boyhoods fancy or loves dream
& still as then thy prescence I behold
I never think of Greece without Haidee]
So beautifull—for nought more loved could be
Then thou in boyhoods fancy or loves dream
& still as then thy prescence I behold
I never think of Greece without Haidee]
[‘The Lord of Daybreak’ soareth now on high
& turns to mirrored gold each wood & stream
Like Edens round the greecian Islands lie
As beautifull as a midsummer dream—
Where once thy smile is seen—what else may seem
So beautifull—for nought more loved can be
Then thou in boyhoods fancy or loves dream
& still thou art a sweet young dream to me
I never think of greece without Haidee
& turns to mirrored gold each wood & stream
Like Edens round the greecian Islands lie
As beautifull as a midsummer dream—
Where once thy smile is seen—what else may seem
So beautifull—for nought more loved can be
Then thou in boyhoods fancy or loves dream
& still thou art a sweet young dream to me
I never think of greece without Haidee
The heaven of earths visions—boyhoods dreams—
But too much love turns dirty—here we halt
& face about from heaven & extremes
Ale cant be good if they forget the malt
& earth has lost its savour without salt
Love—hate are nearer kindred than life seems
To own too—if her fault I cannot tell
That sweet that turns to sour & never creams
Makes strange reallities the heaviest dreams
But too much love turns dirty—here we halt
& face about from heaven & extremes
Ale cant be good if they forget the malt
& earth has lost its savour without salt
Love—hate are nearer kindred than life seems
To own too—if her fault I cannot tell
That sweet that turns to sour & never creams
Makes strange reallities the heaviest dreams
216
Love tickled is by any bents or straws
A lady likeing whisper in the dark
A rebel doubtfullness unknown to laws
That looks all eyes & greedy as a shark
Swallows the mall the promenade & park
But such is sham love fond of different faces
Not that which hears the ballads of the lark
True love's the inward self in secret places
Whats felt bye two in love a third but guesses
A lady likeing whisper in the dark
A rebel doubtfullness unknown to laws
That looks all eyes & greedy as a shark
Swallows the mall the promenade & park
But such is sham love fond of different faces
Not that which hears the ballads of the lark
True love's the inward self in secret places
Whats felt bye two in love a third but guesses
NELLY GILES
O Nelly Giles o Nelly Giles
I canna rest i' sleep
I wander over gates & stiles
& over rivers deep
Your face it is sae sweet to see
Sae rich the rosey smiles
Ye've often made a fool o' me
My charming Nelly Giles
I canna rest i' sleep
I wander over gates & stiles
& over rivers deep
Your face it is sae sweet to see
Sae rich the rosey smiles
Ye've often made a fool o' me
My charming Nelly Giles
The summer is a luscious flower
& sae is Nelly Giles
The clover bottles makes the hour
Sae sweet frae stile to stile
Down paths that gae accross the fields
Bean flowers smell sweet & smile
But nae ane thing sic pleasure yields
As a walking Nelly Giles
& sae is Nelly Giles
The clover bottles makes the hour
Sae sweet frae stile to stile
Down paths that gae accross the fields
Bean flowers smell sweet & smile
But nae ane thing sic pleasure yields
As a walking Nelly Giles
217
The water like the bright sun smiles
In white thorns linnets sing
& yonder wanders Nelly Giles
A lily by the spring
The clover bottles luscious smiles
The cowslip by the way
But ten times over Nelly Giles
Is handsomer then they
In white thorns linnets sing
& yonder wanders Nelly Giles
A lily by the spring
The clover bottles luscious smiles
The cowslip by the way
But ten times over Nelly Giles
Is handsomer then they
Sweet Nelly Giles sweet Nelly Giles
Is sweeter then the rose
That on the white thorn hedges smiles
In summer times repose
The sma' white lily by the well
The bell flower by the stile
Looks nothing in their dress so well
As charming Nelly Giles
Is sweeter then the rose
That on the white thorn hedges smiles
In summer times repose
The sma' white lily by the well
The bell flower by the stile
Looks nothing in their dress so well
As charming Nelly Giles
There is an eye there is a look
That wins by choicest smile
You cannot find it i' the brook
But ony Nelly Giles
O Nelly Giles thou pink o' May
& summertime o' smiles
I think about thee every day
Thou charming Nelly Giles
That wins by choicest smile
You cannot find it i' the brook
But ony Nelly Giles
O Nelly Giles thou pink o' May
& summertime o' smiles
I think about thee every day
Thou charming Nelly Giles
218
SONG
[My bonny Ann Sharp]
My bonny Ann Sharp
It was rapture to meet thee
My bonny Ann Sharp
It was pleasure to greet thee
With the leaves on the bushes
The meadows all hay
When we sat on green rushes
& courted all day
It was rapture to meet thee
My bonny Ann Sharp
It was pleasure to greet thee
With the leaves on the bushes
The meadows all hay
When we sat on green rushes
& courted all day
When the wild flower close bye us
Was wooed bye the bee
Nought in life gave such joy as
A armfull of thee
My bonny Ann Sharp
Thou art first o' the many
There is nane i' the whole warld
Can equal my Nannie
Was wooed bye the bee
Nought in life gave such joy as
A armfull of thee
My bonny Ann Sharp
Thou art first o' the many
There is nane i' the whole warld
Can equal my Nannie
Its a beautifull place
I still visit my sen
Where wild flowers may blossom
That blossomed there then
My bonnie Ann Sharp
& the grass luiked sae green
That I thought o' thy beauty
Both morning & e'en
I still visit my sen
Where wild flowers may blossom
That blossomed there then
My bonnie Ann Sharp
& the grass luiked sae green
That I thought o' thy beauty
Both morning & e'en
My bonny Ann Sharp
& rich beautys ain Nannie
Thy frowns & ill temper
Would bother me scranny
But bonnie Ann Sharp
Will luik kindly on me
& bonnie Ann Sharp
Is the dearest to me
& rich beautys ain Nannie
Thy frowns & ill temper
Would bother me scranny
219
Will luik kindly on me
& bonnie Ann Sharp
Is the dearest to me
Of my manhood the queen
Dearest light o' my e'e
& this sweet simmer scene
But reminds me o thee
O my beautifull Ann
Neath the meadows green tree
Where the clear water ran
I'll thy worshiper be
Dearest light o' my e'e
& this sweet simmer scene
But reminds me o thee
O my beautifull Ann
Neath the meadows green tree
Where the clear water ran
I'll thy worshiper be
SONG—WHITE THORN TREE
The may bush smells sae very sweet
The crimson threeds sae fine
The chaffinch builds her nest sae neat
& shepherd's sit to dine
Aye dear o' me I love to see
The sweetly scented white thorn tree
The crimson threeds sae fine
The chaffinch builds her nest sae neat
& shepherd's sit to dine
Aye dear o' me I love to see
The sweetly scented white thorn tree
The leaves are green & very green
Though bunches o' the may
Whiten till scarcely one is seen
For a whole summers day
Aye dear o' me I love to see
Hedges all white & love the awthorn tree
Though bunches o' the may
Whiten till scarcely one is seen
For a whole summers day
Aye dear o' me I love to see
Hedges all white & love the awthorn tree
220
It spreads above the little pond
& hides the thrushes nest
The hedge is whiter still beyond
With moonlight on its breast
Aye dear o' me I luv' to see
The little pond & awthorn tree
& hides the thrushes nest
The hedge is whiter still beyond
With moonlight on its breast
Aye dear o' me I luv' to see
The little pond & awthorn tree
I luv' the thorn the white awthorn
The bonniest thing in may
That bonnily scents the gales o' morn
& sweetens a' the day
Aye dear o' me I love to see
Grass shadows o' the white thorn tree
The bonniest thing in may
That bonnily scents the gales o' morn
& sweetens a' the day
Aye dear o' me I love to see
Grass shadows o' the white thorn tree
It fa's sae black on the wild thyme hills
In the morning & sae lang
& the blackbird hides that merry trills
In its leaves the sweetest song
Aye dear o' me I luv' to see
The blackbird haunted white thorn tree
In the morning & sae lang
& the blackbird hides that merry trills
In its leaves the sweetest song
Aye dear o' me I luv' to see
The blackbird haunted white thorn tree
O the bonny scented awthorn
Bright leaf & snowy flowers
That stands alone tween lands o corn
Glittered wi' morning dews & showers
Aye dear o' me I luv' to see
The bonny spreading white thorn tree
Bright leaf & snowy flowers
That stands alone tween lands o corn
Glittered wi' morning dews & showers
Aye dear o' me I luv' to see
The bonny spreading white thorn tree
221
MARY GREEN
Was there ever such a hue
O Loves bonny Mary Green
On the rosey pearled in dew
As on thy cheek is seen
On choice carnation leaves
Was there e'er so rich a streak
When thy white bosom heaves
As thy lips that music speak
O Loves bonny Mary Green
On the rosey pearled in dew
As on thy cheek is seen
On choice carnation leaves
Was there e'er so rich a streak
When thy white bosom heaves
As thy lips that music speak
Shall I twine the weeping willow
Round the bloom of Mary Green
Oer her bosoms snowy pillows
& her face so like a queen
Shall the cypress glooms be wreathing
Like a lump o' coffined clay
Round that form o' beauty breathing
All the witcherys o' May
Round the bloom of Mary Green
Oer her bosoms snowy pillows
& her face so like a queen
Shall the cypress glooms be wreathing
Like a lump o' coffined clay
Round that form o' beauty breathing
All the witcherys o' May
O my lovely Mary Green
The richest flower o' May
On thy bonny face is seen
Which love winna take away
Thy dress sae neat thy face sae sweet
As bonny as a queen
Thou'rt loves own sweetheart a' compleat
My bonny Mary Green
The richest flower o' May
On thy bonny face is seen
Which love winna take away
Thy dress sae neat thy face sae sweet
As bonny as a queen
Thou'rt loves own sweetheart a' compleat
My bonny Mary Green
222
SONG
[Mary Ann Abbot]
Mary Ann Abbot
Ive a secret or two
But love dare not blab it
To any but you
Ive a secret or two
But love dare not blab it
To any but you
Its a secret as simple
As secrets all are
In Mary Anns dimples
& beautifull hair
As secrets all are
In Mary Anns dimples
& beautifull hair
Dark curls of her youth
& love light o' her eye
In that beautifull truth
Why is Mary so shy
& love light o' her eye
In that beautifull truth
Why is Mary so shy
Nature ripened those charms love
Pride never made vain
Why not come to my arms love
& kiss me again
Pride never made vain
Why not come to my arms love
& kiss me again
Lay bare those twin roses
That hide in thy hair
Thy eyes light discloses
The sweetness hid there
That hide in thy hair
Thy eyes light discloses
The sweetness hid there
223
For thy dark curls lye on them
Like night in the air
Like a nightmare upon them
As nothing were there
Like night in the air
Like a nightmare upon them
As nothing were there
Come my sweet Mary Ann
Let me kiss & adore thee
There's none in this world
That was ever before thee
Let me kiss & adore thee
There's none in this world
That was ever before thee
[O for one real imaginary blessing]
O for one real imaginary blessing
Ideal real blessing blasted through
With sin & yet how rich is the caressing
Of love as mothers kisses sweet as Hermon dew
A bright grey eye or black it knocks mine through
& leaves them dim as stars fall'n from above
Electric shocks they come from God knows who
Milk maids have eyes the picture of the doves
That thrill through bones & marrow is it Love
Ideal real blessing blasted through
With sin & yet how rich is the caressing
Of love as mothers kisses sweet as Hermon dew
A bright grey eye or black it knocks mine through
& leaves them dim as stars fall'n from above
Electric shocks they come from God knows who
Milk maids have eyes the picture of the doves
That thrill through bones & marrow is it Love
It is the very essence of all pleasure
It is earths diamond & the oceans gem
It is of life & soul the dearest treasure
Woman through life is mans own diadem
To love God truly may we worship them
Of life in love how various is the scenes
Of infant cherubs Loves the parent stem
I wooed a gipsey wench on sunday e'ens
& worshiped beggar girls & courted queens
It is earths diamond & the oceans gem
It is of life & soul the dearest treasure
Woman through life is mans own diadem
To love God truly may we worship them
224
Of infant cherubs Loves the parent stem
I wooed a gipsey wench on sunday e'ens
& worshiped beggar girls & courted queens
Love is the fire that burns the heart to cinders
Love is the thought that makes the poets sigh
Sweet as Queens portraits stuck in London windows
For loyal subjects in their love to buy
Love is of every heart the painted toy
The idol of man[s] worship—faces fair
Where my enchanted magic from a boy
The pouting lip the colour of the hair
Left me in raptures next of kin to care
Love is the thought that makes the poets sigh
Sweet as Queens portraits stuck in London windows
For loyal subjects in their love to buy
Love is of every heart the painted toy
The idol of man[s] worship—faces fair
Where my enchanted magic from a boy
The pouting lip the colour of the hair
Left me in raptures next of kin to care
I loved & wooed them in the field like gems
Of two much value for the clown who sung
The azure bluebells in their sapphire stems
Among green bushes low their mute bells hung
These seemed love's modest maidens dew bestrung
With blebs o' mornings glittering pearls
I loved them in the vallys where I sung
With their green drapery & crispy curls
I loved them as a crowd of blooming girls
Of two much value for the clown who sung
The azure bluebells in their sapphire stems
Among green bushes low their mute bells hung
These seemed love's modest maidens dew bestrung
With blebs o' mornings glittering pearls
I loved them in the vallys where I sung
With their green drapery & crispy curls
I loved them as a crowd of blooming girls
With bonny bosom white as is the May
Sweet milkmaid o' may mornings—queen Victoria
The wild brere blushes wi' the break o' day
Sweet as the cowslip fields that spread before thee
Sweet are the dusky clouds that sprinkle oer thee
Filling the cowslip pips wi pearls untold
Thy crown & scepter fade from natures glory
Like toys for tyrants or like garments old
Be nature's Queen & keep her crown of gold
Sweet milkmaid o' may mornings—queen Victoria
The wild brere blushes wi' the break o' day
Sweet as the cowslip fields that spread before thee
Sweet are the dusky clouds that sprinkle oer thee
Filling the cowslip pips wi pearls untold
Thy crown & scepter fade from natures glory
Like toys for tyrants or like garments old
Be nature's Queen & keep her crown of gold
225
The wild hedge rose it is a bonny flower
As ever met the sunshine & the sky
Its gold threads beeded with the summer showers
That patter on the glossy leaves & lye
Like pearls that glitter neath the maidens eye
Who stands admiring by the burning flowers
That from her own looks takes a deeper dye
Like feathers on the hedges at morns hours
They look to fancies happier then ours
As ever met the sunshine & the sky
Its gold threads beeded with the summer showers
That patter on the glossy leaves & lye
Like pearls that glitter neath the maidens eye
Who stands admiring by the burning flowers
That from her own looks takes a deeper dye
Like feathers on the hedges at morns hours
They look to fancies happier then ours
I could not walk the fields like common men
& have no fancys nourish—nor could I
Pass the wild rose bush oer the foxes den
& not admire its grandeur silently
Natures own majesty who could pass bye
Things left all beauty like those simple scenes
The wild rose blushing neath a summer sky
The summer morning & the rosey e'en
With all the woodland multitudes of green
& have no fancys nourish—nor could I
Pass the wild rose bush oer the foxes den
& not admire its grandeur silently
Natures own majesty who could pass bye
Things left all beauty like those simple scenes
The wild rose blushing neath a summer sky
The summer morning & the rosey e'en
With all the woodland multitudes of green
SONG
[We never know the sweets o' joy]
We never know the sweets o' joy
Untill it goes away
The sweetest flower no notice wakes
Untill it meets decay
Untill it goes away
The sweetest flower no notice wakes
Untill it meets decay
The bright sun shines our heads above
Like rich unnoticed dreams
& when the day is lost in clouds
We value the sunbeams
Like rich unnoticed dreams
& when the day is lost in clouds
We value the sunbeams
226
The spring is nothing when it comes
That seemed so bright before
The merry bee neglected hums
Flowers weeds & nothing more
That seemed so bright before
The merry bee neglected hums
Flowers weeds & nothing more
The present joy we cannot see
The sweetest comes to morrow
But when its past no longer free
Past joys are present Sorrow
The sweetest comes to morrow
But when its past no longer free
Past joys are present Sorrow
SONG
[I long to think of thee in lonely midnight]
I long to think of thee in lonely midnight
When thy spirit comes warm as an angel of light
Thy face is before me in rosey & flame
Which my kiss canna reach & I know not thy name
My heart aches to think on't—tis long sin' we met
If love is the truth love how can I forget
My arms would have clasped thee to pull thy face down
But when I embraced thee the Vision was flown
When thy spirit comes warm as an angel of light
Thy face is before me in rosey & flame
Which my kiss canna reach & I know not thy name
My heart aches to think on't—tis long sin' we met
If love is the truth love how can I forget
My arms would have clasped thee to pull thy face down
But when I embraced thee the Vision was flown
& was it true luv' & cud I forget
Thy name when I feel how enraptured we met
& can love forget thee sae much & keep true
Thy vision brought daylight before the cock crew
I saw thee above me in roseate hue
Thy cheeks they were red & thy bosom swelled too
My arm could na reach those pearl shoulders sae white
Nor my lips cud na kiss wi' thy lips to unite
Thy name when I feel how enraptured we met
& can love forget thee sae much & keep true
Thy vision brought daylight before the cock crew
I saw thee above me in roseate hue
Thy cheeks they were red & thy bosom swelled too
My arm could na reach those pearl shoulders sae white
Nor my lips cud na kiss wi' thy lips to unite
227
& can it be love to have loved & forget
To see thee in visions nor know thy name yet
Thy face is my own that was worshipped in love
& thou comest before me a light from above
Tis thyself but I canna yet think o' thy name
Though my cells light at midnight before the day came
Thy face is still beauty thy breast roseys hue
But thy name I cant think of & yet love is true
To see thee in visions nor know thy name yet
Thy face is my own that was worshipped in love
& thou comest before me a light from above
Tis thyself but I canna yet think o' thy name
Though my cells light at midnight before the day came
Thy face is still beauty thy breast roseys hue
But thy name I cant think of & yet love is true
[God looks on nature with a glorious eye]
God looks on nature with a glorious eye& blesses all creation with the sun
Its drapery of green & brown earth ocean lie
In morning as Creation just begun
That safforn east fortells the riseing sun
& who can look upon that majesty
Of light brightness & splendour nor feel won
With love of him whose bright all seeing eye
Feeds the days light with Immortallity
MARCH VIOLET
Where last years leaves & weeds decay
March violets are in blow
I'd rake the rubbish all away
& give them room to grow
March violets are in blow
I'd rake the rubbish all away
& give them room to grow
228
Near neighbour to the Arum proud
Where dew drops fall & sleep
As purple as a fallen cloud
March violets bloom & creep
Where dew drops fall & sleep
As purple as a fallen cloud
March violets bloom & creep
Scenting the gales of early morn
They smell before they're seen
Peeping beneath the old white thorn
That shows its tender green
They smell before they're seen
Peeping beneath the old white thorn
That shows its tender green
The lambs will nible by their bloom
& eat them day by day
Till briars forbid his steps to come
& then he skips away
& eat them day by day
Till briars forbid his steps to come
& then he skips away
Mid nettle stalks that wither there
& on the greensward lie
All bleaching in the thin march air
The scattered violets lie
& on the greensward lie
All bleaching in the thin march air
The scattered violets lie
I know the place it is a place
In spring where nettles come
There milk white violets show thier face
& blue ones earlier bloom
In spring where nettles come
There milk white violets show thier face
& blue ones earlier bloom
SONG—MOLLY MAGEE
My thoughts are of thee Love though thou thinkst not of me
Yet dearly I love thee sweet Molly Magee
To day i' the morning twas nine o' the clock
Thy arm went behind thee to button thy frock
& in pulling it back wi' sich sweetness & ease
My heart broke in two love as short as you please
So now Im a cripple as well you may see
& all through the beauty of Molly Magee
Yet dearly I love thee sweet Molly Magee
To day i' the morning twas nine o' the clock
Thy arm went behind thee to button thy frock
229
My heart broke in two love as short as you please
So now Im a cripple as well you may see
& all through the beauty of Molly Magee
Tother day she stooped natty to tye up her shoe
It wanted five minutes of a quarter to two
& lauk sich a foot & a ancle war there
I lost both my eyes as I turned me to stare
They left me as blind as an owl before day
& stone heaps & blunders are all in the way
I maun be a blind man & believe I cant see
& its all for the beauty of Molly Magee
It wanted five minutes of a quarter to two
& lauk sich a foot & a ancle war there
I lost both my eyes as I turned me to stare
They left me as blind as an owl before day
& stone heaps & blunders are all in the way
I maun be a blind man & believe I cant see
& its all for the beauty of Molly Magee
She tyed up her shoe string she buttoned her frock
& my heart was shut up like the bolt i' the lock
Like the bolt i' the lock like the chit i' the pea
Sich power had the beauty o' Molly Magee
Her back war so white & her leg war so round
The sight o't war worth half the coin in a pound
But bother the sight it has stolen my e'e
I'm blind wi' the beauty o' Molly Magee
& my heart was shut up like the bolt i' the lock
Like the bolt i' the lock like the chit i' the pea
Sich power had the beauty o' Molly Magee
Her back war so white & her leg war so round
The sight o't war worth half the coin in a pound
But bother the sight it has stolen my e'e
I'm blind wi' the beauty o' Molly Magee
I tumble oer stone heaps & miss the high way
& am lost i the dark i the middle o day
If ain opes his mouth I'm as deaf as a tree
They a' seem as taulkin' o' Molly Magee
If they mutter agen her & I knew it not
My heart leaves my breast like a bird that is shot
I shall ne'er mak' an ould man I plain enough see
I'm kilt through the beauty of Molly Magee
& am lost i the dark i the middle o day
If ain opes his mouth I'm as deaf as a tree
They a' seem as taulkin' o' Molly Magee
If they mutter agen her & I knew it not
My heart leaves my breast like a bird that is shot
I shall ne'er mak' an ould man I plain enough see
I'm kilt through the beauty of Molly Magee
230
WRECK OF THE EMELIE
The land it is a dangerous strand
So is the briny Sea
When man has lost his self command
How wretched he must be
Our Ship it was the ‘Emmelie’
To Cardiff she was bound
But foundered in a dangerous sea
With dangers all around
So is the briny Sea
When man has lost his self command
How wretched he must be
Our Ship it was the ‘Emmelie’
To Cardiff she was bound
But foundered in a dangerous sea
With dangers all around
The sky was all a ink black rock
The wild fire seaming through
The Emelie recieved the shock
All in that boisterous Sea
Like seething pots the billows boiled
& frothed that briny Sea
The sailors on the masts were coiled
When wrecked the Emelie
The wild fire seaming through
The Emelie recieved the shock
All in that boisterous Sea
Like seething pots the billows boiled
& frothed that briny Sea
The sailors on the masts were coiled
When wrecked the Emelie
The night came on in black & brown
& where that chauldron boiled red hot
The foundering Emelie went down
As sudden as a shot
Some clung to spars to hencoops some
Twas but a minutes space
Loud oer them boiling billows boom
& left no resting place
& where that chauldron boiled red hot
The foundering Emelie went down
As sudden as a shot
Some clung to spars to hencoops some
Twas but a minutes space
Loud oer them boiling billows boom
& left no resting place
231
Above them gloomed the angry sky
& through the pitch black rock
Of clouds the splintered lightnings flye
None could resist the shock
Down & in a moment gone
Nine men plunged in the wave
& all the seamen lost but one
There met a watery grave
& through the pitch black rock
Of clouds the splintered lightnings flye
None could resist the shock
Down & in a moment gone
Nine men plunged in the wave
& all the seamen lost but one
There met a watery grave
One still survived that fatal wreck
By billows washed ashore
Though all had hopes that stood on deck
That now can feel no more
He through the boiling waves did beat
All in that boiling sea
& on the beach upon his feet
Viewed the shipwrecked Emelie
By billows washed ashore
Though all had hopes that stood on deck
That now can feel no more
He through the boiling waves did beat
All in that boiling sea
& on the beach upon his feet
Viewed the shipwrecked Emelie
[The healthfull mind that muses & inhales]
The healthfull mind that muses & inhales
The green eyed dews of morning finds his way
To paradise Gods choice selfplanted vales
The dewy breath of flowers the gales that play
Around them like sleep wakeing half the day
Morning luxuriant in green juicey strife
[OMITTED]
[OMITTED]
Health to faint love & happiness to life
The green eyed dews of morning finds his way
To paradise Gods choice selfplanted vales
The dewy breath of flowers the gales that play
Around them like sleep wakeing half the day
Morning luxuriant in green juicey strife
[OMITTED]
[OMITTED]
Health to faint love & happiness to life
O the first days of summer—mornings blush
Is rife with healthy freshness hung with dew
To dip your hand into a wet rose bush
& crop the fairest flower that ever grew
Pearled with the silver shine of morning dew
How beautifull it looks how sweet it smells
The breath of virgin morning coming new
That from the sweets of flowers her story tells
& voice of song birds in the ecchoing dells
Is rife with healthy freshness hung with dew
To dip your hand into a wet rose bush
& crop the fairest flower that ever grew
Pearled with the silver shine of morning dew
232
The breath of virgin morning coming new
That from the sweets of flowers her story tells
& voice of song birds in the ecchoing dells
& heres the double pink Hepathica
Another early herald of the spring
That comes before the Daffodils to say
That Winds of march are coming with the spring
& all her pleasant flowers—Birds on the wing
Are chirping in the boxtree bye the roots
Hepathicas are early flowers of Spring
They come before the rich laburnum shoots
& frost & snow the early blossom suits
Another early herald of the spring
That comes before the Daffodils to say
That Winds of march are coming with the spring
& all her pleasant flowers—Birds on the wing
Are chirping in the boxtree bye the roots
Hepathicas are early flowers of Spring
They come before the rich laburnum shoots
& frost & snow the early blossom suits
SONG
[O Edinborough Katys a beautifull girl]
O Edinborough Katys a beautifull girl
Her eyes bright as sunshine her teeth white as pearl
Her waist little mair then the span of baith han's
Yet her bosom & shoulders are broader then man's
This edinborough Katys a beautifull girl
Her eyes bright as sunshine her teeth white as pearl
As soft as a cushion a armfull to span
With a bosom & shoulders as broad as a man
Her eyes bright as sunshine her teeth white as pearl
Her waist little mair then the span of baith han's
Yet her bosom & shoulders are broader then man's
This edinborough Katys a beautifull girl
Her eyes bright as sunshine her teeth white as pearl
As soft as a cushion a armfull to span
With a bosom & shoulders as broad as a man
O Edinburough Katy she bluims like a lily
The pride o' a' Scotland the pride o' her Willy
Is Edinbro' Katy as weel as the town
& she waulks on the mountain while the sun gangs down
O Endinbro Katy's a beautifull girl
Her eye is rich auburn her teeth white as pearl
O Edinburough Katy's as red as a rose
As down the fair streets of the city she goes
The pride o' a' Scotland the pride o' her Willy
Is Edinbro' Katy as weel as the town
& she waulks on the mountain while the sun gangs down
233
Her eye is rich auburn her teeth white as pearl
O Edinburough Katy's as red as a rose
As down the fair streets of the city she goes
O Edinburgh Katy[s] suns twa three & twenty
The stranger he luiks on her beauty sae dainty
& scarcely believes her as yet in her teens
& she scarcely can think what the strangers luik means
For Katy cant bear to be speerd at bye ony
Her shoulders sae broad & her bosom sae bonny
This Edinburough Katy's the lily sae dear
& the flower o' the city at the Spring o' the year
The stranger he luiks on her beauty sae dainty
& scarcely believes her as yet in her teens
& she scarcely can think what the strangers luik means
For Katy cant bear to be speerd at bye ony
Her shoulders sae broad & her bosom sae bonny
This Edinburough Katy's the lily sae dear
& the flower o' the city at the Spring o' the year
| The later poems of John Clare | |