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The Ants

By John Clare

Topics: classic

What wonder strikes the curious, while he views     The black ant's city, by a rotten tree,     Or woodland bank! In ignorance we muse:     Pausing, annoyed,--we know not what we see,     Such government and thought there seem to be;     Some looking on, and urging some to toil,     Dragging their loads of bent-stalks slavishly:     And what's more wonderful, when big loads foil     One ant or two to carry, quickly then     A swarm flock round to help their fellow-men.     Surely they speak a language whisperingly,     Too fine for us to hear; and sure their ways     Prove they have kings and laws, and that they be     Deformed remnants of the Fairy-days.

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"What wonder strikes the curious, while he views..."

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Author:John Clare

"What wonder strikes the curious, while he views..." by John Clare

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"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.

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