"I ne'er was struck before that hour
With love so sudden and so sweet
Her face it bloomed like a sweet flower
And stole my heart away complete."

John Clare, what caused you to depart
Before we had a chance to be
Lovers joined by fate and heart
Together for eternity

They don't make men like they once did
In the time that you'd recall
When virgins their purity never hid
And love was at fate's beck and call

Some souls of old try to return
But none this modern age survive
Where wealth and lust does love adjourn
And dreams from fairydust derive

For every sin there is a price
For every price a soul must pay
The poets and prophets will suffice
And rise again on Judgement Day

Oh, John Clare, one day you'll see
When in the afterlife we meet
The one you spoketh of was me
First love; a premonition fleet