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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| POEMS FROM BAKER'S GLOSSARY
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 | The later poems of John Clare |  |
1107
POEMS FROM BAKER'S GLOSSARY
[Where the deer with their shadows passed swifter than thought]
Where the deer with their shadows passed swifter than thought,And the hare from the braken went limping along,
Where the pheasant's red eye for a moment was caught,
Then vanished away like a spinning bee's song;
Ye green shades of Burghley! how lovely you seem,
Your sweet spreading oaks and your braken so green,
Your green plots as sweet as a shepherd boy's dream,
'Neath the shade of dark trees where I've many a day been,
And sitting in braken or roots of the lime,
Amusing my leisure in ballads and rhyme.
1108
[How beautiful May and its morning comes in!]
How beautiful May and its morning comes in!
The song of the maidens you hear them begin,
To sing the old ballads while cowslips they pull,
While the dew of the morning fills many pips full.
The song of the maidens you hear them begin,
To sing the old ballads while cowslips they pull,
While the dew of the morning fills many pips full.
The closes are spangled with cowslips like gold,
Girls cram in their aprons what baskets can't hold;
And still gather on to the heat of the day,
Till force often throws the last handful away.
Girls cram in their aprons what baskets can't hold;
And still gather on to the heat of the day,
Till force often throws the last handful away.
Then beneath an old hawthorn they sit one and all,
And make the May garlands and round cuck a ball
Of cowslips and blossoms so showy and sweet,
And laugh when they think of the swains they shall meet.
And make the May garlands and round cuck a ball
Of cowslips and blossoms so showy and sweet,
And laugh when they think of the swains they shall meet.
Then to finish the garland they trudge away home,
And beg from each garden the flowers then in bloom;
Then beneath the old eldern, beside the old wall,
They sit out to make it, maids, misses, and all.
And beg from each garden the flowers then in bloom;
Then beneath the old eldern, beside the old wall,
They sit out to make it, maids, misses, and all.
The ribbons the ploughmen bought maids at the fair,
Are sure to be seen in a garland so fair;
And dolls from the children they dress up and take,
While children laugh loud at the show they will make.
Are sure to be seen in a garland so fair;
And dolls from the children they dress up and take,
While children laugh loud at the show they will make.
Then they take round the garland to shew at each door,
With kerchief to hide the fine flowers cover'd o'er;
At cottages also, when willing to pay,
The maidens their much admired garland display.
With kerchief to hide the fine flowers cover'd o'er;
At cottages also, when willing to pay,
The maidens their much admired garland display.
1109
Then at duck under water adown the long road,
They run with their dresses all flying abroad;
And ribbons all colours how sweet they appear!
May seems to begin the new life of the year.
They run with their dresses all flying abroad;
And ribbons all colours how sweet they appear!
May seems to begin the new life of the year.
Then the garland on ropes is hung high over all,
One end to a tree and one hooked to a wall;
Where they cuck the ball over till day is nigh gone,
And then tea and cakes and the dancing comes on.
One end to a tree and one hooked to a wall;
Where they cuck the ball over till day is nigh gone,
And then tea and cakes and the dancing comes on.
And then, lawk! what dancing and laughing is there,
While the fidler makes faces within the arm chair;
And then comes the cushion, the girls they all shriek
And fly to the door from the old fiddler's squeak;
While the fidler makes faces within the arm chair;
And then comes the cushion, the girls they all shriek
And fly to the door from the old fiddler's squeak;
But the doors they are fastened, so all must kneel down
And take the rude kiss from the unmannerly clown.
Thus the May games are ended, to their houses they roam,
With the sweetheart she chooses each maiden goes home.
And take the rude kiss from the unmannerly clown.
Thus the May games are ended, to their houses they roam,
With the sweetheart she chooses each maiden goes home.
Quotations from Baker's Glossary
[I]
[Where the water's allus running]
Where the water's allus running,While the spring is just beginning,
And the cowslips ever springing,
Come looping o'er the lea.
(i. 12)
[2]
[The frosty morning bites as sharp as fire]
The frosty morning bites as sharp as fire,The rime e'en blisters on the bucket bale.
(i. 29)
[3]
[When the mist o'er the heath hills smokes mealy and grey]
When the mist o'er the heath hills smokes mealy and grey,When the dew, like to beaded work, blebs on the thorns,
Which the morning wind flirts in a moment away.
(i. 55)
[4]
[The village daily hears the thumping flail]
The village daily hears the thumping flail,The cat-ice chatters where the schoolboy pass'd,
And tried to slur (slide), and whiter falls the blast.
(i. 102)
[5]
[See here where the shepherd boys played]
See here where the shepherd boys played,Here's a ring for the marbles, a hole for the chock,
And a cat-gallows not a yard high.
(i. 116)
[6]
[Where the clodhopper on the clods all day]
Where the clodhopper on the clods all day,Slow moves his tail and TWEETS the winds away.
(i. 128)
[7]
[The blackbirds sung with sooty bosoms]
The blackbirds sung with sooty bosomsAnd loudly talk'd the coppled jay.
(i. 142)
[8]
[The flycatcher, all in yellow and slate grey]
The flycatcher, all in yellow and slate grey,Pops from the crannies of the stable wall.
(i. 157)
[9]
[The frozen snow crumps loud beneath his tread. ]
The frozen snow crumps loud beneath his tread.
(i. 163)
[10]
[Beech dottrels, with their glossy leaves]
Beech dottrels, with their glossy leaves,All overhang the way.
(i. 189)
[11]
[I wept to see the hawk severe]
I wept to see the hawk severeMurder the furze-lark whistling nigh.
(i. 260)
[12]
[I never pass'd without a gleg]
I never pass'd without a glegThe bonny maid of Clyde.
(i. 276)
[13]
[The bulrushes wobble i' the gulls i' the flood. ]
The bulrushes wobble i' the gulls i' the flood.
(i. 297)
[14]
[The little boy, with feet as sore as boils]
The little boy, with feet as sore as boils,Hirples in trouble from the school-house door;
The poor lame urchin wakes his mother's smiles,
Who gives him ‘bull's eyes’ till the smart is o'er.
(i. 326)
[15]
[She came for a hid to the wood-stack]
She came for a hid to the wood-stack,And lean'd o'er the gate to look out.
(i. 369)
[16]
[While forth the hedger to his labour fares]
While forth the hedger to his labour fares,Lairing the white thorn e're it knots for May.
(i. 383)
[17]
[When she got too far off, why I'd something to tell]
When she got too far off, why I'd something to tell;So I sent sighs behind her, and talk'd to mysell.
(ii. 43)
[18]
[And glossy green ivy]
And glossy green ivyRound the oak bole drest,
That pothers up stivy,
When boys climb the crow's nest.
(ii. 133)
[19]
[The horse-road stood in pudges]
The horse-road stood in pudges,And the path was hardly dry.
(ii. 142)
[20]
[The rack rides o'er the sun like smoke away]
The rack rides o'er the sun like smoke away,And makes the sun appear the moon by day.
(ii. 154)
[21]
[The wind is rollocking about to-day]
The wind is rollocking about to-day,Wild, but not stormy, kissing every feature
Of loveliness, that happens in its way.
(ii. 180)
[22]
[When screeds of sunshine gild the little yard]
When screeds of sunshine gild the little yard,A hive-bee hummig by the wall is heard.
(ii. 205)
[23]
[And Autumn with her sunny screeds is done. ]
And Autumn with her sunny screeds is done.
(ii. 205)
[24]
[The violets by the woodland side]
The violets by the woodland side,As thick as they could snive,
I've talk'd to them with childish pride,
As things that were alive.
(ii. 261)
[25]
[The rabbits streak and slumber in the sun]
The rabbits streak and slumber in the sun,And wake from buzzes of the great blue fly.
(ii. 303)
[26]
[The Robin is on the ground]
The Robin is on the groundClose to a mossy stulp.
(ii. 307)
[27]
[The dark wind o' autumn so dreary]
The dark wind o' autumn so drearySughs through the black firdales so lonely.
(ii. 308)
[28]
[I thought I was going to drop dead in a swither. ]
I thought I was going to drop dead in a swither.
(ii. 320)
[29]
[We passed the Canterbury bell]
We passed the Canterbury bell,The meadow-sweet like feathers,
The blanket camps, where gipsies dwell,
And asses graze in tethers.
(ii. 334)
[30]
[How woeful the waste looks, how troubled the sky]
How woeful the waste looks, how troubled the sky,How dull the sun wades through the mist o' the hills,
A gray gloomy covering hangs under the sky.
(ii. 378)
[31]
[Where the whirlipuff comes as if something was in 't]
Where the whirlipuff comes as if something was in 't,And tazzles the grasses, and ruffles the corn,
And runs o'er the corn-field in less than a minute.
(ii. 395)
[32]
[The moor-cock springs on whirring wings]
The moor-cock springs on whirring wingsAmong the blooming heather.
(ii. 395)
| The later poems of John Clare | |