Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, HAY-TIME; OR, THE CONSTANT LOVERS; A PASTORAL IN CUMBERLAND DIALECT, by JOSIAH RELPH


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

HAY-TIME; OR, THE CONSTANT LOVERS; A PASTORAL IN CUMBERLAND DIALECT, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Warm shone the sun, the wind as warmly blew
Last Line: For fear the maister put us in a sang.
Alternate Author Name(s): Relph, Joseph
Subject(s): Mowing And Mowers


CURSTY and PEGGY

WARM shone the sun, the wind as warmly blew,
No longer cooled by draughts of morning dew;
When in the field a faithful pair appeared,
A faithful pair full happily endeared:
Hasty in rows they raked the meadow's pride,
Then sank amid the softness side by side,
To wait the withering force of wind and sun;
And thus their artless tale of love begun.
Cursty A finer hay-day seer was never seen;
The greenish sops already luik less green;
As weel the greenish sops will suin be dried
As Sawney's bacco spred by th' ingle side.
Peggy And see how finely striped the fields appear,
Striped like the gown 'at I on Sundays wear;
White shows the rye, the big of blaker hue,
The bluimen pezz green ment wi' reed and blue.
Cursty Let other lads to spworts and pastimes run,
And spoil their Sunday clease and clash their shoon;
If Peggy in the field my partner be,
To work at hay is better spwort to me.
Peggy Let other lasses ride to Rosely-fair,
And mazle up and down the market there;
I envy not their happy treats and them,
Happier my sell, if Roger bides at heame.
Cursty It's hard aw day the heavy scy' to swing;
But if my lass a holesome breakfast bring,
Even mowing-time is better far I swear,
Then Cursenmas and aw its dainty chear.
Peggy Far is the Gursin off, top full the kits,
But if my Cursty bears the milk by fits,
For gallopin to wakes I ne'er gang wood,
For ev'ry night's a wake, or full as good.
Cursty Can thou remember, I remember't weel,
Sin call wee things we clavered owr yon steel;
Lang willy-wands for hoops I yust to bay,
To meake my canny lass a leady gay.
Peggy Then dadged we to the bog owr meadows dree,
To plet a sword and seevy cap for thee;
Set off with seevy cap and seevy sword
My Cursty luiked as great as anny lword.
Cursty Beneath a dyke full menny a langsome day,
We sat and beelded houses fine o'clay;
For dishes acorn cups stuid dessed in rows,
And broken pots for dublers mensed the waws.
Peggy O may we better houses get than thar,
Far larger dishes, dublers brighter far;
And ever mair delighted may we be,
I to meake Cursty fine, and Cursty me.
Cursty Right oft at schuil I've speldered owr thy rows,
Faull manny a time I've foughten in thy cause;
And when in winter miry ways let in,
I bear thee on my back through thick and thin.
Peggy As suin as e'er I learned to kest a loup,
Warm mittens wapped thy fingers warmly up;
And when at heels I spied thy stockings out,
I darned them suin, or suin set on a clout.
Cursty O how I liked to see thee on the fleer;
At spworts, if I was trier to be seer,
I reached the fancy ruddily to thee
For nin danced hawf sae weel in Cursty's eye.
Peggy O how I swet when, for the costly prize,
Thou grupped some lusty lad of greater size;
But when I saw him scrawlen on the plain,
My heart aw flackered for't I was sae fain.
Cursty See! owr the field the whurlin sunshine whiews,
The shadow fast the sunshine fair pursues;
From Cursty thus oft Peggy seemed to hast,
As fair she fled, he after her as fast.
Peggy Ay, laddy, seemed indeed for, truth to tell,
Oft wittingly I stummered, oft I fell,
Pretendin some unlucky wramp or strean
For Cursty's kind guid-natured heart to mean.
Curst Sweet is this kiss as smell of dwallowed hay,
Or the fresh prumrose on the furst of May;
Sweet to the teaste as pears or apples moam,
Nay, sweeter than the sweetest honeycomb.
Peggy But let us rise—the sun's owr Carrack fell,
And luik—whae's yon 'at's walking to the well?
Up, Cursty, up; for God's sake let me gang,
For fear the maister put us in a sang.





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