Does anyone have this poem, please? I could only find some 3 or 4 lines browsing.
Here sparrows build upon the trees
And stock dove builds her nest...
Is that the one you mean? Just google those lines...et voila!
Here sparrows build upon the trees,
And stock dove hides her nest:
The leaves are winnowed by the breeze
Into a calmer rest.
The back-cap's song was very sweet;
That used the rose to kiss;
It made the paradise complete,
My early home was this.
The red-breast from the sweetbrier bush
Dropped down to pick the worm;
On the horse-chestnut sang the thrush,
O'er the house where I was born.
Risking the ire of Clare's copyright holder:
The moonlight, like a shower of pearls,
Fell o'er this ' bower of bliss,'
And on the bench sat boys and girls;
My early home was this.
The old house stooped just like a cave,
Thatched o'er with mosses green;
Winter around the walls would rave,
But all was calm within.
The trees here are all green again,
Here bees the flowers still kiss,
But flowers and trees seemed sweeter then;
My early home was this.
Thank you so much!!
Sorry about "builds" for "hides". Never quote from memory!
Speaking of copyrights, here is a good link to bookmark:
[www.loc.gov];
And, speaking of John Clare, I don't remember if this site has been mentioned before:
[human.ntu.ac.uk]
I walk to London down these roads with my poetry and prose
and a knapsack for my journey.
I left Helpstone in the rain, from Northamptonshire I came
where lives my lovely Mary.
But I sing the shepherd's song as I walk along
and the bells of life are ringing.
I know there's nothing but Eden's grace and in any case
the birds are sweetly singing.
From The Shepherd's Song sung by Pete Morton on his new CD Swarthmoor. John Clare was born in 1793 in Helpstone and grew up next door to the Blue Bell Inn. His cottage and the inn are still there. Today you will find the village listed as Helpston, Cambridgeshire. It hasn't moved, the boundaries have, but you could argue whether he used the Northamptonshire or Cambridgeshire dialect.