Old Elm that murmured in our chimney
The sweetest anthem autumn ever
And into mellow whispering calms would
When showers fell on thy many coloured
And when dark tempests mimic thunder
While darkness came as it would strangle
With the black tempest of a winter
That rocked thee like a cradle to thy
How did I love to hear the winds
Thy strength without while all within was
It seasoned comfort to our hearts
We felt thy kind protection like a
And pitched our chairs up closer to the
Enjoying comforts that was was never
Old favourite tree thoust seen times changes
But change till now did never come to
For time beheld thee as his sacred
And nature claimed thee her domestic
Storms came and shook thee with aliving
Yet steadfast to thy home thy roots hath
Summers of thirst parched round thy homely
Till earth grew iron - still thy leaves was
The children sought thee in thy summer
And made their play house rings of sticks and
The mavis sang and felt himself
While in they leaves his early nest was
And I did feel his happiness mine
Nought heeding that our friendship was
Friend not inanimate- tho stocks and
There are and many cloathed in flesh and
Thou ownd a language by which hearts are
Deeper than by the attribute of
Thine spoke a feeling known in every
Language of pity and the force of
What cant assumes what hypocrites may
Speaks home to truth and shows it what they areI see a picture that thy fate
And learn a lesson from thy
Self interest saw thee stand in freedoms
So thy old shadow must a tyrant
Thoust heard the knave abusing those in
Bawl freedom loud and then oppress the
Thoust sheltered hypocrites in many an
That when in power would never shelter
Thoust heard the knave supply his canting
With wrongs illusions when he wanted
That bawled for shelter when he lived in
And when clouds vanished made thy shade
With axe at root he felled thee to the
And barked of freedom - O I hate that
It grows the cant terms of enslaving
To wrong another by the name of
It grows a licence with oer bearing
To cheat plain honesty by force of
Thus came enclosure- ruin was her
But freedoms clapping hands enjoyed the
Tho comforts cottage soon was thrust
And workhouse prisons raised upon the
Een natures dwelling far away from
The common heath became the spoilers
The rabbit had not where to make his
And labours only cow was drove
No matter- wrong was right and right was
And freedoms brawl was sanction to the
Such was thy ruin music making
The rights of freedom was to injure
As thou wert served so would they
In freedoms name the little so would they over
And these are knaves that brawl for better
And cant of tyranny in stronger
Who glut their vile unsatiated
And freedoms birthright from the weak devours
