We are Seven
By
William Wordsworth
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--- A simple child,
That lightly draws its breath,
And feels its life in every limb,
What should it know of death ?
I met a little cottage girl:
She was eight years old, she said;
Her hair was thick with many a curl
That clustered round her head.
She had a rustic, woodland air,
And she was wildly clad:
Her eyes were fair, and very fair,
---Her beauty made me glad.
" Sisters and brothers, little maid,
How many may you be ? "
" How many ? Seven in all, " she said,
And wondering looked at me.
" And who are they ? I pray you, tell. "
She answered, " Seven are we:
And two of us at Conway dwell,
And two are gone to sea.
" Two of us in the churchyard lie,
My sister and my brother;
And, in the churchyard cottage, I
Dwell near them with my mother. "
" You say that two at Conway dwell,
And two are gone to sea,
Yet ye are seven ! --- I pray you tell,
Sweet maid, how this may be. "
Then did the little maid reply,
" Seven boys and girls are we;
Two of us in the churchyard lie,
Beneath the churchyard tree. "
" You run about, my little maid,
Your limbs they are alive;
If two are in the churchyard laid,
Then ye are only five. "
" Their graves are green, they may be seen, "
The little maid replied,
" Twelve steps or more from my mother's door,
And they are side by side.
" My stockings there I often knit,
My kerchief there I hem;
And there upon the ground I sit,
And sing a song to them.
"And often after sunset, sir,
When it is light and fair,
I take my little porringer,
And eat my supper there.
" The first that died was sister Jane:
In bed she moaning lay,
Till God released her of her pain;
And then she went away.
" So, in the churchyard she was laid;
And, when the grass was dry,
Together round her grave we played,
My brother John and I.
" And when the ground was white with snow,
And I could run and slide,
My brother John was forced to go,
And he lies by her side. "
" How many are you, then," said I,
" If they two are in heaven ? "
Quick was the little maid's reply,
" O master ! we are seven. "
" But they are dead; those two are dead !
Their spirits are in heaven ! "
'T was throwing words away: for still
The little maid would have her will,
And said, " Nay, we are seven ! "
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