ERE AROUND THE HUGE OAK
Ere around the huge oak, that o’ershadows yon mill
The fond ivy had dar’d to entwine;
Ere the church was a ruin, that nods on the hill,
Or a rook built its nest on the pine.
Could I trace back the time to a far distant date,
Since my forefather’s toil’d in this field;
And the farm I now hold on your honour’s estate,
Is the same that my grandfather toil’d.
Ho, dying, bequeath'd to his son a good name.
Which unsullied descended to me;
For my child I've preserv'd it, unblemish’d by shame
And it still from a spot shall be free.
This work was published before January 1, 1928, and is in the public domain worldwide because the author died at least 100 years ago.