Classic Poem

MAN AND FRIEND

MAN

And oh! the path at Shelvinghay;
An oak-tree here, an oak-tree there;
With people tripping on their way,
A comely man, a maiden fair,
Or children glad to skip and run
Out home from school with noisy fun,
With " Hah! Jim's hat is on the bough,
Hah! hee! Run, Jim, he'll catch him now."

FRIEND

Aye! aye! the path down Shelvinghay,
Where we so often took our way.

MAN

And then, again, the rookery, —
A rook up here, a rook out there;
About their nests, in tree by tree;
And some on boughs, and some in air,
As we might yearn, with clinging legs,
To climb the tree and take their eggs, —
" Caw, caw, more sticks, oh! here they come;
Caw, caw, another's gone for some."

FRIEND

Aye! aye! the noisy rookery,
With stick-built nests in ev'ry tree.

MAN

And then the brook, our angling place;
A fish up here, a fish out there;
Where we for gudgeon or for dace
Would hang our hooks above the weir:
Where dark-stemm'd alders lowly spread,
Or grey-leav'd willows bow'd their head, —
" Hah! hah! a fish just took a twitch;
Heeh! hee! one here begun to hitch."

FRIEND

Aye! aye! the brook with rushy brim,
Where we would go to fish or swim.

MAN

And oh! our homes above the pool;
A door up here, a door out there;
Where folk in summer evenings cool
Would stand and talk in sunless air:
With " Here John Hine forgot to set
His wedding day to Mr. Bret;
Hah! ha! not tell him they should come,
Not they, and so he went from home."

FRIEND

Aye! aye! John Hine, and that's all true,
That's what John Hine forgot to do.