Friday, September 13, 2024

Bonnie Suwannee O





 Bonny Suwannee O!

john clare stokes

Adapted from John Clare poem, Bonny Lassie O!


O the evening's for the fair, Bonny Suwannee O!

To meet the cooler air and join an Ibis there,

With the dark dishevelled Clare

Bonny Suwannee O!


The bloom's on the briar, Bonny Suwannee O!

Seed cones on the cypress; and wilt thou gang to see 

The shoals that roil for thee,

Bonny Suwannee O!


Tis agen the running stream, Bonny Suwannee O!

In a sandy nook hard by, with a little patch of sky.

Beneath a button bush to keep us dry

Bonny Suwannee O!


There's the butterwort all the year, Bonny Suwannee O!

There's the Jessamine bright as gold, and the Otter never cold,

And the Iris flags unfurled,

Bonny Suwannee O!


O meet me at the shoal, Bonny Suwannee O!

With the Wood stork flying in, 

And the wild Azaleas like thy skin

Blushing thy praise to win,

Bonny Suwannee O!


I will meet thee there at e'en, Bonny Suwannee O!

When the bee sips on the tupelo and Barred Owls on

Branches lean

And the moon beam looks between

Bonny Suwannee O!


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