THE CHOICE
When skies are blue and days are bright
A kitchen-garden 's my delight,
Set round with rows of decent box
And blowsy girls of hollyhocks.
A kitchen-garden 's my delight,
Set round with rows of decent box
And blowsy girls of hollyhocks.
Before the lark his Lauds hath done
And ere the corncrake 's southward gone;
Before the thrush good-night hath said
And the young Summer 's put to bed.
And ere the corncrake 's southward gone;
Before the thrush good-night hath said
And the young Summer 's put to bed.
The currant-bushes' spicy smell,
Homely and honest, likes me well.
The while on strawberries I feast,
And raspberries the sun hath kissed.
Homely and honest, likes me well.
The while on strawberries I feast,
And raspberries the sun hath kissed.
Beans all a-blowing by a row
Of hives that great with honey go,
With mignonette and heaths to yield
The plundering bee his honey-field.
Of hives that great with honey go,
With mignonette and heaths to yield
The plundering bee his honey-field.
Sweet herbs in plenty, blue borage
And the delicious mint and sage,
Rosemary, marjoram, and rue,
And thyme to scent the winter through.
And the delicious mint and sage,
Rosemary, marjoram, and rue,
And thyme to scent the winter through.
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