John Clare
John Clare (1793–1864) was an English poet known as the "peasant poet" for his humble origins. His nature poetry—including "I Am" and "Badger"—captures the English count…
"The world is taking little heed And plods from day to day: The vulgar flourish like a weed, The learned pass away. We miss hi"
"A weedling wild, on lonely lea, My evening rambles chanc'd to see; And much the weedling tempted me To crop its tender flower:"
"Now eve's hours hot noon succeed; And day's herald, wing'd with speed, Flush'd with summer's ruddy face, Hies to light some cooler"
"Hail, soothing balm! Ye breezes blow, Ransack the flower and blossom'd tree; All, all your stolen gifts bestow, For Health has gran"
"'T is pleasant to bear recollections in mind Of joys that time hurries away-- To look back on smiles that have passed like t"
"Just as the even-bell rang, we set out To wander the fields and the meadows about; And the first thing we mark'd that was lovely to view"
"[Clare's note:--"Scraps from my father and mother, completed."] Here's a sad good bye for thee, my love, To friends and foes a"
"Fill the foaming cups again, Let's be merry while we may; Man is foolish to complain When such joys are in his way: Cares may"
"Ah, when this world and I have shaken hands, And all the frowns of this sad life got through, When from pale Care and Sorrow's dismal la"
"O life, thy name to me's a galling sound, A sound I fain would wish to breathe no more; One only peace for me my hopes have found,"
""Where art thou wandering, little child?" I said to one I met to-day.-- She pushed her bonnet up and smiled, "I'm going upon the gr"
"O take this world away from me; Its strife I cannot bear to see, Its very praises hurt me more Than een its coldness did before,"
""Unriddle this riddle, my own Jenny love, Unriddle this riddle for me, And if ye unriddle the riddle aright, A kiss"
"Grasshoppers go in many a thumming spring And now to stalks of tasseled sow-grass cling, That shakes and swees awhile, but still keeps s"
"Lassie, I love thee! The heavens above thee Look downwards to move thee, And prove my love true. My arms round thy waist,"
"Here grandeur triumphs at its topmost pitch In gardens, groves, and all that life beguiles; Here want, too, meets a blessing from the ri"
"Syren of sullen moods and fading hues, Yet haply not incapable of joy, Sweet Autumn! I thee hail With welcome all unfeigned;"
"The turkeys wade the close to catch the bees In the old border full of maple trees And often lay away and breed and come And bring"
"Come we to the summer, to the summer we will come, For the woods are full of bluebells and the hedges full of bloom, And the crow is on"
"'T was on the banks of Ivory, 'neath the hawthorn-scented shade, Early one summer's morning, I met a lovely maid; Her hair h"
"Thou lovely bud, with many weeds surrounded, I once again address thee with a song; To cheer thee up 'gainst Envy's adder-tongue Th"
"Serene she looks, she wears an angel's form, Her arching eyes are fix'd upon the sky, Gloomy, yet glist'ning 'tween black curls wip'd by"
"Summer's pleasures they are gone like to visions every one, And the cloudy days of autumn and of winter cometh on. I tried to call them"
"Soon as the spring its earliest visit pays, And buds with March and April's lengthen'd days Of mingled suns and shades, and snow, and ra"
"WILLIAM. When I meet Peggy in my morning walk, She first salutes the morn, then stays to talk: The biggest secret she will not refuse,"
"My love she wears a cotton plaid, A bonnet of the straw; Her cheeks are leaves of roses spread, Her lips are like the haw. In"
"O home, however homely,--thoughts of thee Can never fail to cheer the absent breast; How oft wild raptures have been felt by me, Wh"
"Sweet, uncultivated blossom, Reared in Spring's refreshing dews, Dear to every gazer's bosom, Fair to every eye tha"
"Go rose, my Chloe's bosom grace: How happy should I prove, Could I supply that envied place With never-fading love. Acce"
"I love thee, Nature, with a boundless love! The calm of earth, the storm of roaring woods! The winds breathe happiness where'er I rov"
"How sweet are Spring wild flowers! They grow past the counting. How sweet are the wood-paths that thread through the grove! But sweet"
"The frog croaks loud, and maidens dare not pass But fear the noisome toad and shun the grass; And on the sunny banks they dare not go"
""Will Jockey come to-day, mither? Will Jockey come to-day? He's taen sic likings to my brither He's sure to come the day.""
"Welcome, red and roundy sun, Dropping lowly in the west; Now my hard day's work is done, I'm as happy as the best. Joyful are"
"I ne'er was struck before that hour With love so sudden and so sweet. Her face it bloomed like a sweet flower And stole my heart aw"
"Sweet Mary, though nor sighs nor pains Impassion'd courtship prove, My simple song the truth ne'er feigns To win thee to my love:"
"Poets love Nature, and themselves are love. Though scorn of fools, and mock of idle pride. The vile in nature worthless deeds approve"
"Of all the swains that meet at eve Upon the green to play, The shepherd is the lad for me, And I'll ne'er say him n"
"Ye brown old oaks that spread the silent wood, How soothing sweet your stillness used to be; And still could bless, when wrapt in musing"
"With filial duty I address thee, Mother, Thou dearest tie which this world's wealth possesses; Endearing name! no language owns another"
"The sultry day it wears away, And o'er the distant leas The mist again, in purple stain, Falls moist on flower and trees:"
"Thy glance is the brightest, Thy voice is the sweetest, Thy step is the lightest, Thy shape the completest: Thy waist I c"
"Mary, leave thy lowly cot When thy thickest jobs are done; When thy friends will miss thee not, Mary, to the pastures run. Whe"
"And has the Spring's all glorious eye No lesson to the mind? The birds that cleave the golden sky-- Things to the earth resigne"
"Sweet Summer, breathe your softest gales To charm my lover's ear: Ye zephyrs, tell your choicest tales Where'er she shall appea"
"Wandering by the river's edge, I love to rustle through the sedge And through the woods of reed to tear Almost as high as bushes ar"
"Among the taller wood with ivy hung, The old fox plays and dances round her young. She snuffs and barks if any passes bye And swing"
"Rank Poverty! dost thou my joys assail, And with thy threat'nings fright me from my rest? I once had thoughts, that with a Bloomfield's"
"The sinking sun is taking leave, And sweetly gilds the edge of Eve, While huddling clouds of purple dye Gloomy hang the western sky"
"Oh, the world is all too rude for thee, with much ado and care; Oh, this world is but a rude world, and hurts a thing so fair; Was there"
"The sultry day it wears away, And o'er the distant leas The mist again, in purple stain, Falls moist on flower and trees: His"
"Calm resignation meets a happy end; And Providence, long-trusted, brings a friend. God's will be done, be patient and be good; Elis"
"The spring is coming by a many signs; The trays are up, the hedges broken down, That fenced the haystack, and the remnant shines Li"
"Waves trough, rebound, and furious boil again, Like plunging monsters rising underneath, Who at the top curl up a shaggy mane, A mo"
"When in summer thou walkest In the meads by the river, And to thyself talkest, Dost thou think of one ever-- A lost and a lorn"
"O silly love! O cunning love! An old maid to trepan: I cannot go about my work For loving of a man. I cann"
"My love is tall and handsome; All hearts she might command; She's matchless for her beauty, The queen of all the la"
"I In politics and politicians' lies The modern farmer waxes wondrous wise; Opinionates with wisdom all compact, And een could tel"
"'T was somewhere in the April time, Not long before the May, A-sitting on a bank o' thyme I heard a maiden say, "My true"
"Huge elm, with rifted trunk all notched and scarred, Like to a warrior's destiny! I love To stretch me often on thy shadowed sward,"