The Cross Roads; Or, The Haymaker's Story Poem Rhyme Scheme

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Stopt by the storm that long in sullen black	A
From the south west stained its encroaching track	A
Haymakers hustling from the rain to hide	B
Sought the grey willows by the pasture side	B
And there while big drops bow the grassy stems	C
And bleb the withering hay with pearly gems	C
Dimple the brook and patter in the leaves	D
The song or tale an hour's restraint relieves	D
And while the old dames gossip at their ease	E
And pinch the snuff box empty by degrees	E
The young ones join in love's delightful themes	F
Truths told by gipsies and expounded dreams	F
And mutter things kept secrets from the rest	G
As sweethearts' names and whom they love the best	G
And dazzling ribbons they delight to show	H
And last new favours of some veigling beau	H
Who with such treachery tries their hearts to move	I
And like the highest bribes the maidens' love	J
The old dames jealous of their whispered praise	K
Throw in their hints of man's deluding ways	K
And one to give her counsels more effect	L
And by example illustrate the fact	M
Of innocence oercome by flattering man	N
Thrice tapped her box and pinched and thus began	N
	-
'Now wenches listen and let lovers lie	O
Ye'll hear a story ye may profit by	O
I'm your age treble with some oddments to't	P
And right from wrong can tell if ye'll but do't	P
Ye need not giggle underneath your hat	Q
Mine's no joke matter let me tell you that	Q
So keep ye quiet till my story's told	R
And don't despise your betters cause they're old	R
	-
'That grave ye've heard of where the four roads meet	S
Where walks the spirit in a winding sheet	S
Oft seen at night by strangers passing late	T
And tarrying neighbours that at market wait	T
Stalking along as white as driven snow	H
And long as one's shadow when the sun is low	H
The girl that's buried there I knew her well	U
And her whole history if ye'll hark can tell	U
Her name was Jane and neighbour's children we	P
And old companions once as ye may be	P
And like to you on Sundays often strolled	R
To gipsies' camps to have our fortunes told	R
And oft God rest her in the fortune book	V
Which we at hay time in our pockets took	V
Our pins at blindfold on the wheel we stuck	W
When hers would always prick the worst of luck	W
For try poor thing as often as she might	X
Her point would always on the blank alight	X
Which plainly shows the fortune one's to have	Y
As such like go unwedded to the grave	Z
And so it proved The next succeeding May	A2
We both to service went from sports and play	A2
Though in the village still as friends and kin	B2
Thought neighbour's service better to begin	B2
So out we went Jane's place was reckoned good	C2
Though she bout life but little understood	C2
And had a master wild as wild can be	P
And far unfit for such a child as she	P
And soon the whisper went about the town	D2
That Jane's good looks procured her many a gown	D2
From him whose promise was to every one	E2
But whose intention was to wive with none	E2
Twas nought to wonder though begun by guess	F2
For Jane was lovely in her Sunday dress	F2
And all expected such a rosy face	G2
Would be her ruin as was just the case	G2
The while the change was easily perceived	H2
Some months went by ere I the tales believed	H2
For there are people nowadays Lord knows	I2
Will sooner hatch up lies than mend their clothes	J2
And when with such like tattle they begin	B2
Don't mind whose character they spoil a pin	B2
But passing neighbours often marked them smile	K2
And watched him take her milkpail oer a stile	K2
And many a time as wandering closer by	O
From Jenny's bosom met a heavy sigh	O
And often marked her as discoursing deep	L2
When doubts might rise to give just cause to weep	L2
Smothering their notice by a wished disguise	M2
To slive her apron corner to her eyes	M2
Such signs were mournful and alarming things	N2
And far more weighty than conjecture brings	N2
Though foes made double what they heard of all	O2
Swore lies as proofs and prophesied her fall	O2
Poor thoughtless wench it seems but Sunday past	P2
Since we went out together for the last	P2
And plain enough indeed it was to find	Q2
She'd something more than common on her mind	Q2
For she was always fond and full of chat	Q
In passing harmless jokes bout beaus and that	Q
But nothing then was scarcely talked about	R2
And what there was I even forced it out	R2
A gloomy wanness spoiled her rosy cheek	S2
And doubts hung there it was not mine to seek	S2
She neer so much as mentioned things to come	T2
But sighed oer pleasures ere she left her home	U2
And now and then a mournful smile would raise	K
At freaks repeated of our younger days	K
Which I brought up while passing spots of ground	V2
Where we when children 'hurly burlied' round	V2
Or 'blindman buffed' some morts of hours away	A2
Two games poor thing Jane dearly loved to play	A2
She smiled at these but shook her head and sighed	B
When eer she thought my look was turned aside	B
Nor turned she round as was her former way	A2
To praise the thorn white over then with May	A2
Nor stooped once though thousands round her grew	W2
To pull a cowslip as she used to do	W2
For Jane in flowers delighted from a child	X2
I like the garden but she loved the wild	X2
And oft on Sundays young men's gifts declined	Q2
Posies from gardens of the sweetest kind	Q2
And eager scrambled the dog rose to get	Y2
And woodbine flowers at every bush she met	Y2
The cowslip blossom with its ruddy streak	S2
Would tempt her furlongs from the path to seek	S2
And gay long purple with its tufty spike	Z2
She'd wade oer shoes to reach it in the dyke	Z2
And oft while scratching through the briary woods	A3
For tempting cuckoo flowers and violet buds	B3
Poor Jane I've known her crying sneak to town	D2
Fearing her mother when she'd torn her gown	D2
Ah these were days her conscience viewed with pain	C3
Which all are loth to lose as well as Jane	C3
And what I took more odd than all the rest	G
Was that same night she neer a wish exprest	G
To see the gipsies so beloved before	D3
That lay a stone's throw from us on the moor	E3
I hinted it she just replied again	F3
She once believed them but had doubts since then	F3
And when we sought our cows I called 'Come mull '	-
But she stood silent for her heart was full	G3
She loved dumb things and ere she had begun	E2
To milk caressed them more than eer she'd done	E2
But though her tears stood watering in her eye	O
I little took it as her last good bye	O
For she was tender and I've often known	H3
Her mourn when beetles have been trampled on	I3
So I neer dreamed from this what soon befell	U
Till the next morning rang her passing bell	U
My story's long but time's in plenty yet	G
Since the black clouds betoken nought but wet	G
And I'll een snatch a minute's breath or two	W2
And take another pinch to help me through	W2
	-
'So as I said next morn I heard the bell	U
And passing neighbours crossed the street to tell	U
That my poor partner Jenny had been found	G
In the old flag pool on the pasture drowned	G
God knows my heart I twittered like a leaf	J3
And found too late the cause of Sunday's grief	J3
For every tongue was loosed to gabble oer	W2
The slanderous things that secret passed before	W2
With truth or lies they need not then be strict	G
The one they railed at could not contradict	G
Twas now no secret of her being beguiled	G
For every mouth knew Jenny died with child	G
And though more cautious with a living name	K3
Each more than guessed her master bore the blame	K3
That very morning it affects me still	L3
Ye know the foot path sidles down the hill	L3
Ignorant as babe unborn I passed the pond	G
To milk as usual in our close beyond	G
And cows were drinking at the water's edge	M3
And horses browsed among the flags and sedge	M3
And gnats and midges danced the water oer	W2
Just as I've marked them scores of times before	W2
And birds sat singing as in mornings gone	N3
While I as unconcerned went soodling on	I3
But little dreaming as the wakening wind	G
Flapped the broad ash leaves oer the pond reclin'd	G
And oer the water crinked the curdled wave	Z
That Jane was sleeping in her w	-

John Clare

The Cross Roads; Or, The Haymaker's Story Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis

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