The Great Meadow

The Great Meadow Beyond the high hedge the great meadow extends to the sky Its fallow grasses fanned into waves by a breeze. While down the slope the bearded barley and rye Make a downy golden fabric that clothes the leas The largest field in England, so it's opined Though a child beside an endless Kansas prairie Beneath heavens that can be reached by heart and mind No distant scene but a piece of homeland friendly As I walked its hidden life became revealed A pheasant ran with ungainly comic indignity A startled cat leapt from a nest concealed And a sky lark rose to sing an unfettered symphony Across the counties were such prospects planned From days when mighty shires hauled their wains And still the fields and hedgerows shape the land So let it ever green and pleasant remain