'O could I be as I have been'

1
O could I be as I have been
And ne'er can be no more
A harmless thing in meadows green
Or on the wild sea shore

2
O could I be what once I was
In heaths and valleys green
A dweller in the summer grass
Green fields and places green

3
A tennant of the happy fields
By grounds of wheat and beans
By gipsey's camps and milking bield
Where lussious woodbine leans

4
To sit on the deserted plough
Left when the corn was sown
In corn and wild weeds buried now
In quiet peace unknown

5
The barrows resting by the hedge
The roll within the Dyke
Hid in the Ariff and the sedge
Are things I used to like

6
I used to tread through fallow lands
And wade through paths of grain
When wheat ears pattered on the hands
And head-aches left a stain

7
I wish I was what I have been
And what I was could be
As when I roved in shadows green
And loved my willow tree

8
To gaze upon the starry sky
And higher fancies build
And make in solitary joy
Loves temple in the field


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