how can the lark

my dear theo, i've divulged it every way

i am just a painter and earn a painter's wage

how can the lark keep from singing in the spring

go and fall in love yourself, old boy

have sympathy for me

i know of her status, her suitors will be plenty

but my canvas is wide

though my years are eight-and-twenty

how can the lark keep from singing in the spring

though i have heard her reply

it counts as something to me

to her "never, no never", yet i will not yield

i will paint her moon and stars. flower in a field

how can the lark keep from singing in the spring

though the old ones do not bear it

if i were rich they would agree

so i'm getting on better than every with my work

oh preferential torment. to love even unreturned 

how can the lark keep from singing in the spring

go and fall in love yourself, old boy

have sympathy for me.

~doug burr