Poems of Rural Life in the Dorset Dialect/The flood in Spring
THE FLOOD IN SPRING.
Last night below the elem in the lew
Bright the sky did gleam
On water blue, while aïr did softly blow
On the flowèn stream,
An’ there wer gil’cups’ buds untwold,
An’ deäisies that begun to vwold
Their low-stemm’d blossoms vrom my zight
Ageän the night, an’ evenèn’s cwold.
But, oh! so cwold below the darksome cloud
Soon the night-wind roar’d,
Wi’ raïny storms that zent the zwollèn streams
Over ev’ry vword.
The while the drippèn tow’r did tell
The hour, wi’ storm-be-smother’d bell,
An’ over ev’ry flower’s bud
Roll’d on the flood, ’ithin the dell.
But when the zun arose, an’ lik’ a rwose
Shone the mornèn sky;
An’ roun’ the woak, the wind a-blowèn weak,
Softly whiver’d by.
Though drown’d wer still the deaïsy bed
Below the flood, its feäce instead
O’ flow’ry grown’, below our shoes
Show’d feäirest views o’ skies o’er head.
An’ zoo to try if all our faith is true
Jaÿ mid end in tears,
An’ hope, woonce feäir, mid saddèn into fear,
Here in e’thly years.
But He that tried our soul do know
To meäke us good amends, an’ show
Instead o’ things a-took awaÿ,
Some higher jaÿ that He’ll bestow.