Thus I Wrote

I crawled under the ivy
I crawled under the trees
I crawled to where the flowers grow
My father dug the earth
My mother gave birth
Under my hands I felt the earth flow

I sat where the sun shone
Where the hay was tossed on
And the smell rose to the sky
We drank tea and fed
On rhubarb in bread
And we talked of things, Dad and I

I held his hand with the lark
I was afraid of the dark
As we took milk to the creamery
In the horse and cart
We laughed and felt part
Of the world that raced by me

I stayed outside alone
I was scared on my own
I said I’d no money but I lied
All the children go
To the puppet show
I stayed outside and I cried

Down the hill I go
Through the green meadow
I could see them all laid out
As the hailstones fell
As they lashed my legs
As they moved all our things out