Poems (Shore)/The Ruined House
THE RUINED HOUSE
That house that all in ruin lies,
'Twas there that I was born they say—
But since I was a child, mine eyes
Have never seen it till this day.
'Twas there that I was born they say—
But since I was a child, mine eyes
Have never seen it till this day.
I have no memory of the place;
Yet there they tell me, by yon wall,
Where weeds and stones choke all the space,
My sister oft has led the ball.
Yet there they tell me, by yon wall,
Where weeds and stones choke all the space,
My sister oft has led the ball.
There, where in thickets all run wild,
Blush roses and ceringas stray,
When I was but a tiny child
She oft has watched me in my play.
Blush roses and ceringas stray,
When I was but a tiny child
She oft has watched me in my play.
Yon gleaming water, on whose brink
Wild flags their lonely vigil keep—
'Twas there that she would walk and think,
And sometimes too was seen to weep.
Wild flags their lonely vigil keep—
'Twas there that she would walk and think,
And sometimes too was seen to weep.
Howe'er it be, it gives me pain,
This garden waste, so wildly gay—
I will not visit it again
Though I ne'er saw it till this day.
This garden waste, so wildly gay—
I will not visit it again
Though I ne'er saw it till this day.
1844.