Selected Poems of John Clare
Volume 1
Volume 1
Winter in the Fens
So moping flat and low our valleys lie
So dull and muggy is our winter sky
Drizzling from day to day dull threats of rain
And when that falls still threating on again
From one wet week so great an ocean flows
That every village to an island grows
And every road for even weeks to come
Is stopt and none but horsemen go from home
And one wet night leaves travels best in doubt
And horseback travel asks if floods are out
Such are the lowland scenes that winter gives
And strangers wonder where our pleasure lives
Yet in a little garden close at home
I watch for spring and there the crocus comes
And in a little close however keen
The winter comes I find a patch of green
And then mayhap a letter from a friend
Just in the bustle of the city penned
And then to show that friendships warmth survives
The winter from the busy town arrives
A letter spite the flooded roads -- with news
-- New books old friendships authors and reviews
While the intermediate blanks employ
And though fenced [in] with water meet with joy
Though troubled waters down the meadow roars
And fancy dreads the danger out of doors
When every little window after dark
Lights comfort in like faith in noahs ark
So moping flat and low our valleys lie
So dull and muggy is our winter sky
Drizzling from day to day dull threats of rain
And when that falls still threating on again
From one wet week so great an ocean flows
That every village to an island grows
And every road for even weeks to come
Is stopt and none but horsemen go from home
And one wet night leaves travels best in doubt
And horseback travel asks if floods are out
Such are the lowland scenes that winter gives
And strangers wonder where our pleasure lives
Yet in a little garden close at home
I watch for spring and there the crocus comes
And in a little close however keen
The winter comes I find a patch of green
And then mayhap a letter from a friend
Just in the bustle of the city penned
And then to show that friendships warmth survives
The winter from the busy town arrives
A letter spite the flooded roads -- with news
-- New books old friendships authors and reviews
While the intermediate blanks employ
And though fenced [in] with water meet with joy
Though troubled waters down the meadow roars
And fancy dreads the danger out of doors
When every little window after dark
Lights comfort in like faith in noahs ark
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
