Fugitive Poetry. 1600–1878/On a Farmer

From a Gravestone in The Churchyard of Dinton, Near Aylesbury.

On a Farmer.

I've ploughed my land and sown it too;
I've cleaned it, dressed, and drained it through.
My landlord sends me word to quit:
To him in duty I submit.
He bids me seek another soil
In pastures green and free from toil,
And tells me through His Son to stand
The occupant of better land,
No matter whether clay or sand.
At first I thought it hard to leave;
My heart's now changed; I cease to grieve.
In Christ's my faith; I hope to rise,
And reap my harvest in the skies.