From native home, from native tillage,
To the Big House, for beauty's sake,
Luckless girls taken from their village,
Girdles of woven gold to make.
Long hours of labour they endeavour,
Forgetful of their girlish dreams,
Toiling at the broad weaving ever.
Where the Persian pattern gleams.
Outside the walls is smiling tillage,
The sky shines fair beyond the pane,
And thoughts go wandering, willy-nilly,
There where the spring's in flower again.
There by the rye, in the far distance,
The cornflowers gleam with azure still,
And waves of chilly silver glisten,
Where rivers gush between the hills;
Dark frowns the forest's jagged verdure,
And hands, forgetful at the loom,
Neglecting the designs of Persia,
Weave in the native cornflower bloom.