Behind the far woods lowly sunk was the sun

Behind the far woods lowly sunk was the sun

Scarce a streak could be seen in the west
All the horison round was encircl'd wi' dun
And Owls ere and there with their hoping begun
And Crows where all flocking to rest

When Ralph on the road from the fair once again
Had seven long miles for to go
And now these sad omens appeard but too plain
And this way & that way he turnd & again
He hopd that it couldnt be so

Early Poems of John Clare 1804-1822

ed. Eric Robinson, David Powell and Margaret Grainger

(Oxford, 2 volumes, I-II, 1989)