Page:Barnes (1879) Poems of rural life in the Dorset dialect (combined).djvu/445

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beäten path where vo’k do meet &emsp;A-comèn on vrom vur an’ near; How many errands had the veet &emsp;That wore en out along so clear! Where eegrass bleädes be green in meäd, &emsp;Where bennets up the leäze be brown, An’ where the timber bridge do leäd &emsp;Athirt the cloty brook to town, Along the path by mile an’ mile, Athirt the vield, an’ brook, an’ stile.

There runnèn childern’s hearty laugh &emsp;Do come an’ vlee along—win’ swift: The wold man’s glossy-knobbèd staff &emsp;Do help his veet so hard to lift; The maïd do bear her basket by, &emsp;A-hangèn at her breäthèn zide; An’ ceäreless young men, straïght an’ spry, &emsp;Do whissle hwome at eventide, Along the path, a-reachèn by Below tall trees an’ oben sky.

There woone do goo to jaÿ a-head; &emsp;Another’s jaÿ’s behind his back. There woone his vu’st long mile do tread, &emsp;An’ woone the last ov all his track. An’ woone mid end a hopevul road, &emsp;Wi’ hopeless grief a-teäkèn on, As he that leätely vrom abroad &emsp;Come hwome to seek his love a-gone, Noo mwore to tread, wi’ comely eäse, The beäten path athirt the leäze.