Seamer

Seamer

SEAMER, thy rural homes upon the hill
Should be the abode of Health and Purity:
Here one might look for Peace and Industry,—
Where wildflowers bloom, and where the lark doth trill
His joyous hymn of praise. The ancient Mere 5
(Where boats were moored to shoot the wild duck down,
Or spear for eels by light of torch or moon,
Or hook rapacious pike; and where the deer
Were whilom wont to drink) has long been drain’d—
The booming bittern ceased to haunt its reeds— 10
And water-hen no longer in them breeds.
For reeds and Mere are gone: but one is pain’d
To find that even here the greed of gain
Can bind the minds of men in its most servile chain.

George Markham Tweddell

Seamer, Nr  Stokesley, N. Yorks