 | The Poems of John Clare |  |
370
THE FORD
The ploughman stops his wagon at the foreAnd sees the brook a river running o'er;
He tries the depth and progs his whip about;
The timid maiden sees the waters out
And asks the ploughman's aid to ride across;
The boy rides fearless on the foremost horse;
The maiden trembles while she keeps her seat
And screams to see the water at her feet;
Fear brings the deepest blushes on her face,
The wagon-boat swims in the deepest place,
The boy holds fast to see the floating tray
And thinks the horses will be swam away;
But soon they gain the side, a merry throng,
And lose their fears and talk and drive along.
| The Poems of John Clare | |