 | John Clare: The Midsummer Cushion |  |
385
EVENING SCHOOLBOYS
Harken that happy shout—the schoolhouse doorIs open thrown & out the younkers teem
Some run to leapfrog on the rushy moor
& others dabble in the shallow stream
Catching young fish & turning pebbles oer
For muscle clams—Look in that mellow gleam
Where the retiring sun that rests the while
Streams through the broken hedge—How happy seem
Those schoolboy friendships leaning oer the stile
Both reading in one book—anon a dream
Rich with new joys doth their young hearts beguile
& the books pocketed most hastily
Ah happy boys well may ye turn & smile
When joys are yours that never cost a sigh
| John Clare: The Midsummer Cushion | |