Signs of Winter

 

                                                                            

Raymond Booth

Signs of Winter

 

The cat runs races with her tail. The dog
Leaps oer the orchard hedge and knarls the grass.
The swine run round and grunt and play with straw,
Snatching out hasty mouthfuls from the stack.
Sudden upon the elmtree tops the crow
Unceremonious visit pays and croaks,
Then swoops away. From mossy barn the owl
Bobs hasty out--wheels round and, scared as soon,
As hastily retires. The ducks grow wild
And from the muddy pond fly up and wheel
A circle round the village and soon, tired,
Plunge in the pond again. The maids in haste
Snatch from the orchard hedge the mizzled clothes
And laughing hurry in to keep them dry.

John Clare

An unusual restlessness, a nervous energy, a twitchy tic. Even the line "Sudden upon the elmtree tops the crow..." springs at you, jumps out of nowhere. Things are hectic, scattered. Change is imminent, and we all are unsettled - humans and animals both.