Selected Poems of John Clare
Volume 1
Volume 1
Ballad
I love thee sweet mary but love thee in fear
Were I but the morning breeze healthy and airy
As thou goest a walking Id breathe in thy ear
And wisper and sigh how I love thee my mary
I wish but to touch thee but wish it in vain
Was thou but a streamlet a winding so clearly
And I little globules of soft dripping rain
How fond woud I press thy white bosom my mary
I woud steal a kiss but I dare not presume
Was thou but a rose in thy garden sweet fairy
And I a bold bee for to rifle its bloom
A whole summers day would I kiss thee my mary
I long to be wi thee but cannot tell how
Was thou but the eldern that grows by thy dairy
And I the blest woodbine to twine on the bough
I'd embrace thee and stick to thee ever my mary
I love thee sweet mary but love thee in fear
Were I but the morning breeze healthy and airy
As thou goest a walking Id breathe in thy ear
And wisper and sigh how I love thee my mary
I wish but to touch thee but wish it in vain
Was thou but a streamlet a winding so clearly
And I little globules of soft dripping rain
How fond woud I press thy white bosom my mary
I woud steal a kiss but I dare not presume
Was thou but a rose in thy garden sweet fairy
And I a bold bee for to rifle its bloom
A whole summers day would I kiss thee my mary
I long to be wi thee but cannot tell how
Was thou but the eldern that grows by thy dairy
And I the blest woodbine to twine on the bough
I'd embrace thee and stick to thee ever my mary
Poems
chosen by David Barnes from
Oxford World Classics: John Clare Major Works, and recorded for LibriVox.org
Oxford World Classics: John Clare Major Works, and recorded for LibriVox.org