The burdock sprawls on its sill of pine;

And, in its pathway, eglantine

And blackberry tangle and intertwine;

Ox-daisies checker with pearl and gold

The bushy banks of its mill-race old;

The owl in its loft as safely lairs

As the fox in its cellar, that whelps and cares

Naught for the hunters who gallop by

With their baying hounds; the martins fly

Around its chimney and build therein;