William Wordsworth

Lucy Gray [or Solitude]

Oft I had heard of Lucy Gray,

And when I cross'd the Wild,

I chanc'd to see at break of day

The solitary Child.

 

No Mate, no comrade Lucy knew;

She dwelt on a wild Moor,

The sweetest Thing that ever grew

Beside a human door!

 

You yet may spy the Fawn at play,

The Hare upon the Green;

But the sweet face of Lucy Gray

Will never more be seen.

 

"To-night will be a stormy night,

You to the Town must go,

And take a lantern, Child, to light

Your Mother thro' the snow."

 

"That, Father! will I gladly do;

'Tis scarcely afternoon—

The Minster-clock has just struck two,

And yonder is the Moon."