 | Jones Very : The Complete Poems |  |
The Barberry-Pickers
The barberry's red with ripened fruit;
The merry children come,
And fill their baskets from its boughs,
And bear their burdens home.
The merry children come,
And fill their baskets from its boughs,
And bear their burdens home.
What if their fingers oft are pricked
With the sharp-pointed thorn;
Or e'en a dress, by the thick briars,
Is rent and sadly torn?
With the sharp-pointed thorn;
Or e'en a dress, by the thick briars,
Is rent and sadly torn?
511
A pleasant day among the hills
The barberry-pickers spend;
Nor passed in vain the happy hours,
That work with pleasure blend.
The barberry-pickers spend;
Nor passed in vain the happy hours,
That work with pleasure blend.
For many a lesson they shall learn
From this fair Autumn day;
Which, in the distant after years,
Their toil shall well repay.
From this fair Autumn day;
Which, in the distant after years,
Their toil shall well repay.
New strength and health from labor come,
They breathe a purer air,
And in the bounty Nature yields
They feel that all may share.
They breathe a purer air,
And in the bounty Nature yields
They feel that all may share.
Though learning of the school be lost,
Forgot the printed page,
The lessons Nature taught in youth
They'll treasure still in age.
Forgot the printed page,
The lessons Nature taught in youth
They'll treasure still in age.
Poem No. 461; c. 9 October 1877
| Jones Very : The Complete Poems | |