The later poems of John Clare 1837-1864 ... General editor Eric Robinson: Edited by Eric Robinson and David Powell: Associate editor Margaret Grainger |
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THE BONNY MAPLE TREE |
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 | The later poems of John Clare |  |
THE BONNY MAPLE TREE
1
O the bonny maple tree!O the handsome maple tree!
There's not a tree in a' the wood,
Can match the maple tree.
922
The maid is oft cares[s]t there,
By the shepherd she is prest there,
O the bonny maple tree!
2
O the ribb'd bark'd maple tree!O the winsome maple tree!
I love the black blotch'd yellow leaves,
O' the Autumns maple tree.
The siller dew drop, nestles there,
The blue bell drops her tassels there,
The unfledged linnet nestles there,
I' the mossy maple tree.
3
O the bonny maple tree!What a squatty, mossy stub,
And seeds like wings o' dragon flies,
With one end like a club.
For there's the bugles rattle flowers,
Where butterflies, will settle hours,
Beneath the moss stump, scallop towers,
O the bonny maple tree.
4
O the bonny maple tree!O the handsome shady maple tree!
There's not a bird in a' the wood,
But loves the maple tree,
May the school boy, miss and spare em,
And the speckled thrushes, rear em,
In the nest, above the arum,
On the bonny maple tree—
| The later poems of John Clare | |