Page:The poetical works of Robert Burns.djvu/287

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THE SONGS OF BURNS.
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Thou stock-dove whose echo resounds thro' the glen,Ye wild whistling blackbirds in yon thorny den,Thou green-crested lapwing, thy screaming forbear,I charge you disturb not my slumbering fair.
How lofty, sweet Afton, thy neighbouring hills,Far mark'd with the courses of clear, winding rills;There daily I wander as noon rises high,My flocks and my Mary's sweet cot in my eye.
How pleasant thy banks and green valleys below,Where wild in the woodlands the primroses blow;There oft as mild ev'ning weeps over the lea,The sweet-scented birk shades my Mary and me.
Thy crystal stream, Afton, how lovely it glides,And winds by the cot where my Mary resides;How wanton thy waters her snowy feet lave,As gathering sweet flow'rets she stems thy clear wave.
Flow gently, sweet Afton, among thy green braes,Flow gently, sweet river, the theme of my lays;My Mary's asleep by thy murmuring stream,Flow gently, sweet Afton, disturb not her dream.

GLOOMY DECEMBER.

Ance mair I hail thee, thou gloomy December!Ance mair I hail thee wi' sorrow and care;Sad was the parting thou makes me remember,Parting wi' Nancy, oh! ne'er to meet mair.Fond lovers' parting is sweet painful pleasure,Hope beaming mild on the soft parting hour;But the dire feeling, O farewell for ever,Is anguish unmingl'd and agony pure.
Wild as the winter now tearing the forest,Till the last leaf o' the summer is flown,Such is the tempest has shaken my bosom,Since my last hope and last comfort is gone;Still as I hail thee, thou gloomy December,Still shall I hail thee wi' sorrow and care;For sad was the parting thou makes me remember,Parting wi' Nancy, oh! ne'er to meet mair.
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