John Clare And I Am

John Clare wrote his great poem I Am in the Northampton Asylum when he was mentally unwell
A poem that could only be written by a poet living in earthly hell
Yet in the English language a poem that is Worldwide famous today
An outpouring of emotional feelings from one whose mind was in disarray
John Clare who died in the Northampton Asylum to be mentally unwell was his only crime
But his great poems on life, love, birds and animals have withstood the test of time
Locked away from his children and Patty his wife
In mental asylums he spent the most of his life
Since he died on his seventieth year in eighteen sixty four many decades to time have gone
But the great Poet of Helpston his fame does live on
For his brilliant mind a huge price he did pay
But he did live his poetry of him one can say
The poem I Am the poetic anthem of mental illness was written by John Clare
And poets of his standing will always be rare.