THE WREN
            John Clare
                c. 1828; p. 1835
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Why is the cuckoos melody preferred
And nightingales rich song so madly praised
In poets rhymes?   Is there no other bird
Of natures minstrelsy that oft hath raised
Ones heart to exstacy and mirth as well
I judge not how anothers taste is caught
With mine theres other birds that bear the bell
Whose song hath crowds of happy memories brought
Such the wood Robin singing in the dell
And little Wren that many a time hath sought
Shelter from showers in huts where I did dwell
In early spring the tennant of the plain
Tenting my sheep and still they come to tell
The happy stories of the past again


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