For I maun crush amang the stoure 5 To 10 Thy slender stem: spare thee now is past my power, Alas! it's no thy neebor sweet, When upward-springing, blithe, to greet Cauld blew the bitter biting north Scarce reared above the parent earth The flaunting flowers our gardens yield, 20 High sheltering woods and wa's maun shield, But thou, beneath the random bield O'clod or stane, Adorns the histie stibble-field, 25 There, in thy scanty mantle clad, Thy snawie bosom sunward spread, 3. stoure, dust. 21. bield, shelter. 23. histie, dry, barren. 26. snawie, snowy. 30 Thou lifts thy unassuming head But now the share uptears thy bed, Such is the fate of artless maid, 35 Till she, like thee, all soiled, is laid 40 Such is the fate of simple bard, Of prudent lore, Till billows rage, and gales blow hard, Such fate to suffering worth is given, Who long with wants and woes has striven, 45 By human pride or cunning driven To misery's brink, Till wrenched of every stay but Heaven, 204 A BARD'S EPITAPH. A Bard's Epitaph, written in 1786, is so sincere a confession of Burns's own faults that it seems an impertinence to rebuke them further. Is there a whim-inspired fool, Owre fast for thought, owre hot for rule, 5 And owre this grassy heap sing dool, 10 Is there a bard of rustic song, Who, noteless, steals the crowds among, Oh, pass not by! But, with a frater-feeling strong, Is there a man whose judgment clear Here pause and, through the starting tear, The poor inhabitant below 20 Was quick to learn, and wise to know, And softer flame; 2. owre, over. 3. snool, submit tamely. 5. dool, sorrow. 6. drap, drop. 5 10 15 But thoughtless follies laid him low, 25 Reader, attend — whether thy soul 30 Know, prudent, cautious self-control SONGS. FOR A' THAT AND A' THAT. Is there, for honest poverty, That hangs his head, and a' that! Our toils obscure, and a' that; What though on hamely fare we dine, Wear hodden-gray, and a' that; Gie fools their silks, and knaves their wine, A man's a man for a' that! For a' that, and a' that, Their tinsel show, and a' that; The honest man, though e'er sae poor, 8. gowd, gold. 11. gie, give. Ye see yon birkie, ca'd a lord, Wha struts, and stares, and a' that; Though hundreds worship at his word, 20 He's but a coof for a' that. For a' that, and a' that, His ribbon, star, and a' that; 25 A prince can mak a belted knight, 30 For a' that, and a' that, Their dignities, and a' that; The pith o' sense, and pride o' worth, Then let us pray that come it may- 35 That sense and worth, o'er a' the earth, 28. he maunna fa' that, he must not think an honest man is not "aboon his might." 36. gree, prize. 39. warld, world. |