The first stanza, Refugee Mother and Child, is written in a highly free-form way. It does not follow a strict form of iambic pentameter nor any other formal meter. Rather, it uses vague phrases such as "a refuge from their grief" and "an asylum for their souls" to convey the emotions of the mother and child. This poem was written by John Clare (1793–1864) who was an English poet, painter, and naturalist. He is best known for his poems about life in rural England but also wrote about politics, society, and the environment. Clare was born into poverty in Northampton. His father was an agricultural worker who often went without food so that his son could eat. This may have influenced Clare's interest in the natural world which he explored while working on a farm at age 10. He used his wages to buy books; this is how he learned to read and write. At age 14, Clare worked as an apprentice printer and publisher in Bedford. There he came into contact with many famous poets of the time including William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge. They helped inspire him to write his own poetry.