Porlock
by Robert Southey

English poet. An influential figure at the outset of the Romantic movement, he was fond of writing verse narratives set in distant lands, such as Thalaba the Destroyer (1801), Madoc (1805) and The Curse of Kehama (1810). His best-known shorter poems are the ballads 'The Battle of Blenheim' and 'The Inchcape Rock'. Several editions of his collected Poems were issued during his lifetime. His mastery of prose is illustrated by his classic Life of Nelson (1813) and The Life of Wesley (1820), and his popular miscellany The Doctor includes the immortal children's tale 'The Story of the Three Bears'.

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Porlock
by Robert Southey

Porlock! thy verdant vale so fair to sight,
Thy lofty hills which fern and furze imbrown,
The waters that roll musically down
Thy woody glens, the traveller with delight
Recalls to memory, and the channel grey
Circling its surges in thy level bay.
Porlock! I shall forget thee not,
Here by the unwelcome summer rain confined;
But often shall hereafter call to mind
How here, a patient prisoner, 'twas my lot
To wear the lonely, lingering close of day,
Making my sonnet by the alehouse fire,
Whilst Idleness and Solitude inspire
Dull rhymes to pass the duller hours away.

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Porlock by Robert Southey