Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE SHEPHERD O' THE FARM, by WILLIAM BARNES


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THE SHEPHERD O' THE FARM, by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: I be shepherd o' the farm
Last Line: As ef I were a king a-crown'd.
Subject(s): Farm Life; Agriculture; Farmers


I BE the Shepherd o' the farm:
An' be so proud a-roven round
Wi' my long crook a-thirt my yarm,
As ef I wer a king a-crown'd.

An' I da bide al day among
The bleäten sheep, an' pitch ther vuold;
An' when the evemen shiades be long
Da zee 'em al a-penn'd an' tuold.

An' I da zee the frisken lam's,
Wi' swingen tails and woolly lags,
A-playen roun' ther veeden dams,
An' pullen o' ther milky bags.

An' I, bezide a hawtharn tree,
Da zit upon the zunny down,
While shiades o' zummer clouds da vlee
Wi' silent flight along the groun'.

An' there, among the many cries
O' sheep an' lam's, my dog da pass
A zultry hour wi' blinken eyes,
An' nose a-stratch'd upon the grass.

But in a twinklen, at my word,
The shaggy rogue is up an' gone
Out roun' the sheep lik' any bird,
To do what he's a-zent upon.

An' wi' my zong, an' wi' my fife,
An' wi' my hut o' turf an' hurdles,
I wou'den channge my shepherd's life
To be a-miade a king o' wordles.

An' I da goo to washen pool,
A-sousen auver head an' ears
The shaggy sheep, to cleän ther wool,
An' miake 'em ready var the shears.

An' when the shearen time da come,
I be at barn vrom dawn till dark,
Wher zome da catch the sheep, and zome
Da mark ther zides wi' miaster's mark.

An' when the shearen's al a-done,
Then we da eat, an' drink, an' zing
In miaster's kitchen, till the tun
Wi' merry sounds da shiake an' ring.

I be the Shepherd o' the farm:
An' be so proud a-roven round
Wi' my long crook a-thirt my yarm,
As ef I were a king a-crown'd.





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