To The Wood-Lark

Robert Burns 1759 (Alloway) – 1796 (Dumfries)



O stay, sweet warbling wood-lark, stay,
Nor quit for me the trembling spray,
A hapless lover courts thy lay,
     Thy soothing fond complaining.

Again, again that tender part,
That I may catch thy melting art,
For surely that wad touch her heart,
     Wha kills me wi' disdaining.

Say, was thy little mate unkind,
And heard thee as the careless wind?
Oh, nocht but lobve and sorrow join'd,
     Sic notes o' woe could wauken.

Thou tells o' never-ending care;
O' speechless grief, and dark despair;
For pity's sake, sweet bird, nae mair!
     Or my poor heart is broken!

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

30 sec read
68

Quick analysis:

Scheme AAAB CCCB DDXE FFFE
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 562
Words 99
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4

Robert Burns

Robert Burns was a Scottish poet and lyricist. more…

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