Dumb girl

In old books you'll find words for her sort,
who silently stares or sleeps,
a 'moron' you might train to garden,
an 'idiot' you lock up for keeps.
She shambles, she snuffles, she shuffles -
Oh when will the dumb girl speak?

She remains in the hands of the doctor
and under the fists of the nurse.
Their concern is for well-behaved patients,
she wilfully gets worse and worse.
She won't break her habit of weeping -
Oh why won't the dumb girl speak?

They want her to study on week days,
on Sundays they want her to dance,
but observing the sun on the garden
holds the girl in an effortless trance.
They guess she observes them as often -
Oh what if the dumb girl should speak?