Skip to content
Linespedia

Signs of Winter

By John Clare

Topics: classic

The cat runs races with her tail. The dog     Leaps oer the orchard hedge and knarls the grass.     The swine run round and grunt and play with straw,     Snatching out hasty mouthfuls from the stack.     Sudden upon the elmtree tops the crow     Unceremonious visit pays and croaks,     Then swops away. From mossy barn the owl     Bobs hasty out--wheels round and, scared as soon,     As hastily retires. The ducks grow wild     And from the muddy pond fly up and wheel     A circle round the village and soon, tired,     Plunge in the pond again. The maids in haste     Snatch from the orchard hedge the mizzled clothes     And laughing hurry in to keep them dry.

AI analysis available. Enable JavaScript to interact.

About this line

"The cat runs races with her tail. The dog..."

John Clare's contribution to classic is further solidified by the brilliance found in "Signs of Winter"... ### Why We Love This Line At Linespedia, we believe that poetry is the ultimate sanctuary for the soul...

Attribution & Rights

Author:John Clare

"The cat runs races with her tail. The dog..." by John Clare

For usage rights, copyright concerns, or to report an issue with this content, please visit our Copyright & Report page.

Classified Tags

Related lines

"Here morning in the ploughman's songs is met     Ere yet one footstep shows in all the sky,     And twilight in the east, a doubt as yet,     S"

"How oft on Sundays, when I'd time to tramp,     My rambles led me to a gipsy's camp,     Where the real effigy of midnight hags,     With tawny"

"The setting Sun withdraws his yellow light,     A gloomy staining shadows over all,     While the brown beetle, trumpeter of Night,     Proclai"

"Where the broad sheepwalk bare and brown     [Yields] scant grass pining after showers,     And winds go fanning up and down     The little str"

"Here morning in the ploughman's songs is met     Ere yet one footstep shows in all the sky,     And twilight in the east, a doubt as yet,     S"

"The Text is taken from Percy's Reliques (1765), vol. i. p. 71, 'given from two MS. copies, transmitted from Scotland.' Herd had a very similar bal"

John Clare

About 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 countryside with extraordinary precision and emotional honesty, and he is now recognized as one of the finest nature poets in the language.

Full Bibliography
Continue Reading

"Here morning in the ploughman's songs is met     E..."

Weekly Poetic Insight

Join our literary Sanctuary

Get the most inspiring lines, poetic analysis, and secret shayaris delivered to your inbox every Sunday.