THE AUTUMN ROBIN John Clare c. 1820 ======================== Sweet little Bird in russet coat The livery of the closing year I love thy lonely plaintive note And tiney whispering song to hear While on the stile or garden seat I sit to watch the falling leaves Thy songs thy little joys repeat My loneliness relieves And many are the lonely minds That hear and welcome thee anew Not taste alone but humble hinds Delight to praise and love thee too The veriest clown beside his cart Turns from his song with many a smile To see thee from the hedgrow start And sing upon the stile The shepherd on the fallen tree Drops down to listen to thy lay And chides his dog beside his knee Who barks and frightens thee away The hedger pauses ere he knocks The stake down in the meadow gap The Boy who every songster mocks Forbears the gate to clap Where in the hedge that hides the post The ruddy bosom he surveys Pleased with thy song in pleasure lost He pauses mutters scraps of praise The maiden marks at days decline Thee in the yard on broken plough And stops her song to listen thine While milking brindled cow Thy simple faith in mans esteem From every heart that favours won Dangers to thee no dangers seem Thou seemest to court them more then shun The clown in winter takes his gun The barn door flocking birds to slay Yet shouldst thou in the danger run He turns the tube away The gipsey boy who seeks in glee Blackberrys for a dainty meal Laughs loud on first beholding thee When called so near his presence steal For sure he thinks thou knew the call And tho his hunger ill can spare The fruit he will not pluck them all But leaves some to thy share Up on the ditchers spade thoult hop For grubs and wreathing worms to search Where woodmen in the Forrests chop Thoult fearless on their faggots perch Nay by the gipseys camp I stop And mark thee perch a moment there To prune thy wing awhile then drop The littered crumbs to share Domestic bird thy pleasant face Doth well thy common suit commend To meet thee in a stranger place Is meeting with an ancient friend I track the thickets glooms around And there as loath to leave agen Thou comest as if thou knew the sound And loved the sight of men The lonliest wood that man can trace To thee a pleasant dwelling gives In every town and crowded place The sweet domestic Robin lives Go where we will in every spot Thy little welcome mates appear And like the daiseys common lot Thourt met with every where The swallow in the chimney tier The tittering martin in the eaves With half of love and half of fear Their mortared dwelling shyly weaves The sparrows in the thatch will shield Yet they as well as eer they can Contrive with doubtful faith to build Beyond the reach of man But thourt less timid then the Wren Domestic and confiding bird And spots the nearest haunts of men Are oftenest for thy home prefered In garden walls thoult build so low Close where the bunch of fennel stands That een a child just learned to go May reach with tiny hands Sweet favoured bird thy under notes In summers music grows unknown The conscert from a thousand throats Leaves thee as if to pipe alone No listening ear the shepherd lends The simple ploughman marks thee not And then by all thy autumn friends Thourt missing and forgot The far famed nightingale that shares Cold public praise from every tongue The popular voice of music heirs And injures much thy under song Yet then my walks thy theme salutes And finds their autumn favoured guest Gay piping on the hazel roots Above thy mossy nest Tis wrong that thou shouldst be despised When these gay fickle birds appear They sing when summer flowers are prized Thou at the dull and dying year Well let the heedless and the gay Bepraise the voice of louder lays The joy thou stealst from sorrows day Is more to thee then praise And could my notes steal aught from thine My words but immitate thy lay Time would not then his charge resign Nor throw the meanest verse away But ever at this mellow time He should thine Autumn praise prolong So would they share eternal prime With daiseys and thy song ======== ========