Page:Barnes (1879) Poems of rural life in the Dorset dialect (combined).djvu/423

Rh When I’ve a-had a tree to screen &emsp;My meal-rest vrom the high zunn’d-sky, Or ivy-holdèn wall between &emsp;My head an’ win’s a-rustlèn by, I had noo call vor han’s to bring Their seäv’ry daïnties at my nod, But stoop’d a-drinkèn vrom the spring, An’ took my meal, wi’ thanks to God, Wi’ faïth to keep me free o’ dread, An’ peäce to sleep wi’ steadvast head, An’ freedom’s hands, an’ veet unbound To woone man’s work, or woone seäme ground.

gather’d clouds, a-hangèn low, &emsp;Do meäke the woody ridge look dim; An’ raïn-vill’d streams do brisker flow, &emsp;Arisèn higher to their brim. In the tree, vrom lim’ to lim’, &emsp;&emsp;&emsp;Leaves do drop Vrom the top, all slowly down, Yollow, to the gloomy groun’.

The rick’s a-tipp’d an’ weather-brown’d, &emsp;An’ thatch’d wi’ zedge a-dried an’ dead; An’ orcha’d apples, red half round, &emsp;Have all a-happer’d down, a-shed Underneath the trees’ wide head. &emsp;&emsp;&emsp;Ladders long, Rong by rong, to clim’ the tall Trees, be hung upon the wall.

The crumpled leaves be now a-shed &emsp;In mornèn winds a-blowèn keen; When they wer green the moss wer dead, &emsp;Now they be dead the moss is green.