The Verse-Book of a Homely Woman

Homesick

     I shut my eyes to rest 'em, just a bit
          ago it seems,
     An' back among the Cotswolds I were
          wanderin' in me dreams.
     I saw the old grey homestead, with the
          rickyard set around,
     An' catched the lowin' of the herd, a
          pleasant, homelike sound.
     Then on I went a-singin', through the
          pastures where the sheep
     Was lyin' underneath the elms, a-tryin' for
          to sleep.

     An' where the stream was tricklin' by, half
          stifled by the grass,
     Heaped over thick with buttercups, I saw
          the corncrake pass.
     For 'twas Summer, Summer, SUMMER!
          An' the blue forget-me-nots
     Wiped out this dusty city and the smoky
          chimbley pots.
     I clean forgot My Lady's gown, the
          dazzlin' sights I've seen;
     I was back among the Cotswolds, where
          me heart has always been.

     Then through the sixteen-acre on I went,
          a stiffish climb,
     Right to the bridge, where all our sheep
          comes up at shearin' time.
     There was the wild briar roses hangin'
          down so pink an' sweet,
     A-droppin' o' their fragrance on the clover
          at my feet
     An' here me heart stopped beatin', for
          down by Gatcombe's Wood
     My lad was workin' with his team, as only
          my lad could!

     "COME BACK!" was what the tricklin' brook
          an' breezes seemed to say.
     "'TIS LONESOME ON THE COTSWOLDS NOW THAT
          MARY DREW'S AWAY."

     An' back again I'm goin' (for me wages
          has been paid,
     An' they're lookin' through the papers for
          another kitchen maid).
     Back to the old grey homestead, an' the
          uplands cool an' green,
     To my lad among the Cotswolds, where
          me heart has always been!