John Clare – I Am – poem
rnaudioproductions for www.ipodity.com www.allcast.co.uk I Am by John Clare 1793-1864 read by Jan Francis John Clare (13 July 1793 — 20 May 1864) was an English poet, in his time commonly known as “the Northamptonshire Peasant Poet”, born the son of a farm labourer at Helpston near Peterborough. His poetry underwent a major re-evaluation in the late 20th century and he is often now considered to be one of the most important 19th-century poets. I am: yet what I am none cares or knows My friends forsake me like a memory lost, I am the self-consumer of my woes— They rise and vanish in oblivious host, Like shadows in love’s frenzied, stifled throes— And yet I am, and live—like vapors tossed Into the nothingness of scorn and noise, Into the living sea of waking dreams, Where there is neither sense of life or joys, But the vast shipwreck of my life’s esteems; Even the dearest, that I love the best, Are strange—nay, rather stranger than the rest. I long for scenes, where man hath never trod, A place where woman never smiled or wept— There to abide with my Creator, God, And sleep as I in childhood sweetly slept, Untroubling, and untroubled where I lie, The grass below—above the vaulted sky. Audio created by robert nichol AudioProductions all rights reserved rnaudioproductions for www.ipodity.com www.allcast.co.uk ipodity.com allcast.co.uk mp3 ipod download audio book audiobooks
