{"id":395,"date":"2006-08-22T09:13:00","date_gmt":"2006-08-22T01:13:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nolligan.co.uk\/SU\/?p=395"},"modified":"2021-12-01T10:27:04","modified_gmt":"2021-12-01T02:27:04","slug":"395","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.nolligan.ie\/SU\/395\/","title":{"rendered":"Norfolk\u00a0by Sir John Betjemen (Sorrel aka Sheep Sorrel)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

http:\/\/www.florahealth.com\/Flora\/Home\/canada\/healthinformation\/encyclopedias\/sheepsorrel.asp<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Norfolk<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Sheep sorrel, Rumex paucifolius<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

by Sir John Betjemen<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How did the Devil come? When first attack?
These Norfolk lanes recall lost innocence,
The years fall off and find me walking back
Dragging a stick along the wooden fence
Down this same path, where, forty years ago,
My father strolled behind me, calm and slow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I used to fill my hands with sorrel seeds
And shower him with them from the tops of stiles,
I used to butt my head into his tweeds
To make him hurry down those languorous miles
Of ash and alder-shaded lanes, till here
Our moorings and the masthead would appear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There after supper lit by lantern light
Warm in the cabin I could lie secure
And hear against the polished sides at night
The lap lap lapping of the weedy Bure,
A whispering and watery Norfolk sound
Telling of all the moonlit reeds around.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How did the Devil come? When first attack?
The church is just the same, though now I know
Fowler of Louth restored it. Time, bring back
The rapturous ignorance of long ago,
The peace, before the dreadful daylight starts,
Of unkept promises and broken hearts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

http:\/\/www.florahealth.com\/Flora\/Home\/canada\/healthinformation\/encyclopedias\/sheepsorrel.asp Norfolk by Sir John Betjemen How did the Devil come? When first attack?These Norfolk lanes recall lost innocence,The years fall off and find me walking backDragging a stick along the wooden fenceDown this same path, where, forty years ago,My … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[67],"class_list":["post-395","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-poetry","tag-poetry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t