The fallen elm (1)

During the next week I will be posting each day a 14-line portion of Clare's important poem "The fallen Elm"

Old Elm that murmured in our chimney top

The sweetest anthem autumn ever made

And into mellow whispering calms would drop

When showers fell on thy many coloured shade

And when dark tempests mimic thunder made -

While darkness came as it would strangle light

With the black tempest of a winter night

That rocked thee like a cradle to thy root -

How did I love to hear the winds upbraid

Thy strength without — while all within was mute.

It seasoned comfort to our hearts desire

We felt thy kind protection like a friend

And pitched our chairs up closer to the fire

Enjoying comforts that was never penned

(lines 1-14)

John Clare, Poems of the Middle Period,

ed. Eric Robinson, David Powell and P.M.S. Dawson,

Volume  III (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1998)