John Clare Catches a Scent of Goose Grass in the Grounds of Northampton Asylum.(Poem)

 
JOHN CLARE CATCHES A SCENT OF GOOSE GRASS 
IN THE GROUNDS OF NORTHAMPTON ASYLUM 
 
   some days I dither in the half-light of memory 
   some days I do not 
 
   this moming the wind is whistling-- 
   enough to make an oddling leap-- 
 
   while catkins on the birches are swaying 
   east swaying west 
 
   and when I tweak at flakes of bark 
   (touching smooth skin below) 
 
   I remember how I climbed up branches 
   in the village spinney 
 
   remember how 
      I slithered on loose goose grass stems 
   ...