I am currently writing an ode to the countryside

My name is Stephen Duck

(a name I share with another poet)

We are both from Wiltshire

I was born In Bedwyn

(my heaven on earth)

And the other Stephen was born in Charlton

His wife Mary rests in the churchyard

I am also married to a country maid named Capricorn(e)

She is the inspiration behind much of my poetry

Such is her innocence and natural beauty

Our cottage lies between the canal and the railway

It is very remote but seems quite busy

The noise of the trains and the wanderers passing

On the towpath shape our rural days

(especially during the long summer months)

I am currently engaged in repairing a fence damaged

By a cow estranged from a neighbouring meadow

My beautiful wife is copying my poems for printing

As my publisher is planning a visit

As soon as the cornfields ripen and glow