Poetry at the Post: Doors, Dorset & Oaxaca

The Wind at the Door
BY WILLIAM BARNES

I went to door; an’ out vrom trees above
My head, upon the blast by me,

Sweet blossoms wer a-cast by me,
As if my Love, a-past by me,
Did fling em down—a token ov her love.

From the series
From the series “doors of Oaxaca” by AC Jennings

William Barnes (22 February 1801 – 7 October 1886) was an English writer, poet, and philologist. Despite having a busy life as a clerk, a schoolmaster, a pastor—and tutor to Thomas Hardy, he managed to compose over 800 poems plus a comprehensive English grammar.

Barnes was known as a strong supporter of the Dorset dialect and used this dialect in some of his own works.You can download the complete Poems of Rural Life in the Dorset Dialect by William Barnes here. How cool is that?

William Barnes, poet
William Barnes, poet
“Whitcombe – parish church of lost dedication – geograph.org.uk – 533554” by Chris Downer. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons –

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