Here is another charming love poem by John Clare, full of freshness, from his beautiful collection Asylum Poems.

Lassie, I Love Thee.

Lassie, I love thee!
The heavens above thee
Look downwards to move thee,
And prove my love true.
My arms round thy waist, love,
My head on thy breast, love;
By a true man caressed love,
Ne’er bid me adieu.

Thy cheek’s full o’ blushes,
Like the rose in the bushes,
While my love ardent gushes
With over delight.
Though clouds may come o’er thee,
Sweet maid, I’ll adore thee,
As I do now before thee:
I love thee outright.

It stings me to madness
To see thee all gladness,
While I’m full of sadness
Thy meaning to guess.
Thy gown is deep blue, love,
In honour of true love:
Ever thinking of you, love,
My love I’ll confess.

My love ever showing,
Thy heart worth the knowing,
It is like the sun glowing,
And hid in thy breast.
Thy lover behold me;
To my bosom I’ll fold thee,
For thou, love, thou’st just told me,
So here thou may’st rest.

Source: Life and Remains of John Clare, The “Northamptonshire Peasant Poet” by John Clare, edited by J. L. Cherry, London: Frederick Warne & Co. (1873), digitised on Internet Archive. The poem is page 157. See also the hypertext transcription as a Project Gutenberg ebook.

Previously published on Agapeta, 2016/04/20.