The little cares that fretted me
I lost them yesterday
Among the fields, above the sea,
Among the winds at play,
Among the lowing of the herds,
The rustling of the trees,
Among the singing of the birds,
The humming of the bees.
The foolish fears of what might happen,
I cast them all away,
Among the clover-scented grass,
Among the new-mown hay,
Among the husking of the corn,
Where drowsy poppies nod,
Where ill thoughts die and good are born–
Out in the fields with God.
~ No Consensus on Authorship
- Some websites and communities (such as Poetry.com and Brainly) attribute the poem to Elizabeth Barrett Browning, but these are not considered scholarly sources. [poetry.com], [brainly.ph]
- Other sources (such as Poemist and EliteSkills) list the poem as written by “Anonymous” or “Anonymous British,” suggesting the true author is unknown. [eliteskills.com], [poemist.com]
- LiederNet, a reputable database for song texts, attributes the poem to Louise Imogen Guiney (1861–1920), not Browning. [lieder.net]