2 September 2004 | Vol. 4, No. 3

Mouse's Nest

I found a ball of grass among the hay

And progged it as I passed and went away;

And when I looked I fancied something stirred,

And turned again and hoped to catch the bird—

When out an old mouse bolted in the wheats

With all her young ones hanging at her teats;

She looked so odd and so grotesque to me,

I ran and wondered what the thing could be,

And pushed the knapweed bunches where I stood;

Then the mouse hurried from the craking brood.

The young ones squeaked, and as I went away

She found her nest again among the hay.

The water o'er the pebbles scarce could run

And broad old cesspools glittered in the sun.

About the author:

1793-1864. John Clare's first book, Poems Descriptive of Rural Life, appeared to great critical acclaim in 1820. His following three books, however, were met with diminishing enthusiasm. In 1837, he was confined to Northampton General Lunatic Asylum, where he was free to wander the countryside and compose poetry until his death twenty-seven years later. Learn more about John Clare at Wikipedia.

For further reading:

See the complete list of work by John Clare at 42opus. Browse the contents of 42opus Vol. 4, No. 3, where "Mouse's Nest" ran on September 2, 2004. List other work with these same labels: poetry, classic, sonnet, rhyme.

42opus is an online magazine of the literary arts.

copyright © 2001-2011
XHTML // CSS // 508