He Was A Child Of Nature Poem by Francis Duggan

He was a child of Nature who for awhile knew fame
A truly marvellous writer Robert Bloomfield was his name
Yet his poems seem neglected and memories of him in decay
Though his literary worth will be re-discovered in the not too distant day.

His great poem 'The Farmer's Boy' made Bloomfield a literary giant when he was in his prime
And that was centuries ago in Wordworth's and Burns time
But nowadays his name is seldom mentioned though in pubs I've heard reciters quote
A verse or two from memory of the late great Nature poet.

Born in 1766 in Honington in Suffolk he was a tailor's son
And he was one who never wrote of battles fought and won
And of kings and queens and prime ministers he was a Nature Bard
And like many other poets of his era his life was rather hard.

'The Farmer's Boy' his greatest poem more than twenty six thousand copies sold
Yet he died a pauper in his fifty sixth year he did not live to be old
He was a child of Nature who for awhile knew fame
A truly marvellous writer Robert Bloomfield was his name.