TO JULIA
1
Dear Julia! now the new mown hay
Is littered o'er the narrow path,
We'll in the meadows spend the day,
And sit upon the scented swath;
We'll rest upon the fragrant hay,
Dear Julia! in the willows shade;
In fond affection spend the day:
And there I'll love my bonny maid
2
The knap weed falls before the scythe,
And clumps of tawney meadow sweet,
Ploughmen in fallows, whistle blythe,
Where I, and bonny Julia meet.
How sweetly cool the river runs!
How richly green the flags appear!
More yellow than the brightest suns,
The sweetest place in all the year—
3
We'll gather lamb toes in the grass
Brown tanned and hot as Julia's face,
And Burnet flower, a tawney lass,
And rattles like a pencil case
That sound and rattles in the hand,
For which the village boys will run:
For these I'll sea[r]ch about the land,
And walk with Julia in the sun—
4
Dear Julia! now the new mown hay
Is littered oer the narrow path,
We'll in the meadows spend the day,
And walk among the scented swath,
Dear Julia! in the willow's shade,
We'll sit upon the fragrant hay,
And there I'll clasp my peerless maid,
And love, and live throughout the day.
To ‘Julia Wiggington’
