To a Garden—On Leaving It (When William Barnes Left Mere, Wiltshire)

To a Garden—On Leaving It

Sweet garden! peaceful spot! no more in thee
        Shall I e'er while away the sunny hour.
Farewell each blooming shrub, and lofty tree;
        Farewell the mossy path and nodding flow'r:
        I shall not hear again from yonder bow'r
The song of birds, or humming of the bee,
Nor listen to the waterfall, nor see
       The clouds float on behind the lofty tow'r.

No more, at cool-air'd eve, or dewy morn,
       My gliding scythe shall shear thy mossy green:
My busy hands shall never more adorn,

       My eyes no more may see, this peaceful scene.
But still, sweet spot, wherever I may be,
My love-led soul will wander back to thee.

(I should have included this poem when writing this article for Wiltshire Life back in 2002. Although never much of a gardener, myself, I still share similar feelings when thinking back to our old home and garden in Somerset, situated about twelve miles from Chantry House, Mere. According to Douglas Ashdown, Barnes' most famous poem, Linden Lea, was "written in November 1856 after a visit to Mere").

The following poem is also about Barnes' garden at Chantry House, Mere:

A Garden

      A sweet secluded garden! charming sound

                    To those who seldom seek the world, like me.

     Secluded be it, so that none may see

Within the woody boundaries around.

               And while the songs of warbling birds resound,

             And while I hear the humming of the bee

          Around the glowing fruit upon the tree,

       And flow'rs of ev'ry colour on the ground,

    There, blithely busied, I will toil to store

        My ripen'd crops, until the chilly days

                         Of early darkness, and of glowing fires.

        And when the hollow winds of winter roar,

             I'll sit me down beside the cheerful blaze

                     In happiness. To this my soul aspires.

Remembering our old garden in Somerset 

Not forgetting the garden in West Bay, Dorset:

Two of these valuable antique urns were stolen from the garden by burglars

Blithely busied? It was hard work mowing the slopes around the lawn!