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The Swallow

By John Clare

Topics: classic

Pretty swallow, once again     Come and pass me in the rain.     Pretty swallow, why so shy?     Pass again my window by.     The horsepond where he dips his wings,     The wet day prints it full of rings.     The raindrops on his [        ] track     Lodge like pearls upon his back.     Then again he dips his wing     In the wrinkles of the spring,     Then oer the rushes flies again,     And pearls roll off his back like rain.     Pretty little swallow, fly     Village doors and windows by,     Whisking oer the garden pales     Where the blackbird finds the snails;     Whewing by the ladslove tree     For something only seen by thee;     Pearls that on the red rose hing     Fall off shaken by thy wing.     On that low thatched cottage stop,     In the sooty chimney pop,     Where thy wife and family     Every evening wait for thee.

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"Pretty swallow, once again..."

Exploring the themes of classic, John Clare delivers a powerful performance in "The Swallow"... ### Why We Love This Line At Linespedia, we believe that poetry is the ultimate sanctuary for the soul...

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Author:John Clare

"Pretty swallow, once again..." 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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