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1880–1929

BEYOND THE BARN

John Freeman

I rose up with the sun And climbed the hill. I saw the white mists run And shadows run

Down into hollow woods. I went with the white clouds That swept the hill. A wind struck the low hedge trees

And clustering trees, And rocked in each tall elm. The long afternoon was calm When down the hill

I came, and felt the air cool, The shadows cool; And I walked on footsore, Saying, “But two hours more,

Then, the last hill.... Surely this road I know, These hills I know, All the unknown is known,

“And that barn, black and lone, High on the hill — There the long road ends, The long day ends,

And travelling is over.”... Nor thought nor travelling's over. Here on the hill The black barn is a shivering ruin,

A windy cold ruin. I must go on and on, Where often my thought has gone, Up hill, down hill,

Beyond this ruin of Time; Forgetting Time I must follow my thought still.

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BEYOND THE BARN · John Freeman · Poetry Cove