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From a Railway Carriage

 

Faster than fairies, faster than witches,

Bridges and houses, hedges and ditches;

And charging along like troops in a battle

All through the meadows the horses and cattle:

All of the sights of the hill and the plain

Fly as thick as driving rain;

And ever again, in the wink of an eye,

Painted stations whistle by.

Here is a child who clambers and scrambles,

All by himself and gathering brambles;

Here is a tramp who stands and gazes;

And here is the green for stringing the daisies!

Here is a cart runaway in the road

Lumping along with man and load;

And here is a mill, and there is a river:

Each a glimpse and gone forever!

Notes: From a Railway Carriage 

should be read with the speed and rhythm of a train!

 

Vocabulary:

hedge = bushes round a field

ditch = a canal or channel at the side of a country road where the water drains off

charge = attack on the run

meadow = a grassy field, pasture

cattle = cows, etc.

plain = flat piece of land

driving rain = rain blown by the wind

clamber / scramble = climb over a rough or rocky surface

bramble = blackberry bush

tramp = unemployed person who wanders round the countryside living off odd jobs

gaze = look admiringly or dreamily

lumping = like bumping

glimpse = see something for just a moment

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