Page:The poetical works of Robert Burns.djvu/335

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THE SONGS OF BURNS.
265

TO MARY IN HEAVEN.

TUNE—'MISS FORBES' FAREWELL TO BANFF.'

Thou lingering star, with less'ning ray,That lov'st to greet the early morn,Again thou usher'st in the dayMy Mary from my soul was torn.O Mary! dear departed shade!Where is thy place of blissful rest?Seest thou thy lover lowly laid?Hear'st thou the groans that rend his breast?
That sacred hour can I forget?Can I forget the hallow'd grove,Where by the winding Ayr we met,To live one day of parting love?Eternity will not effaceThose records dear of transports past;Thy image at our last embrace;Ah! little thought we 'twas our last!
Ayr gurgling kiss'd his pebbled shore,O'erhung with wild woods, thick'ning green;The fragrant birch, and hawthorn hoar,Twin'd am'rous round the raptur'd scene.The flowers sprang wanton to be prest,The birds sang love on ev'ry spray,Till too, too soon, the glowing westProclaim'd the speed of winged day.
Still o'er these scenes my mem'ry wakes,And fondly broods with miser care!Time but the impression deeper makes,As streams their channels deeper wear.My Mary, dear departed shade!Where is thy blissful place of rest?Seest thou thy lover lowly laid?Hear'st thou the groans that rend his breast?

TO MARY.

Could aught of song declare my pains,Could artful numbers move thee,The Muse should tell, in labour'd strains,O Mary, how I love thee!
They who but feign a wounded heartMay teach the lyre to languish;But what avails the pride of art,When wastes the soul with anguish?
Then let the sudden bursting sighThe heart-felt pang discover;And in the keen, yet tender eye,O read th' imploring lover!
For well I know thy gentle mindDisdains art's gay disguising;Beyond what fancy e'er refin'd,The voice of nature prizing.

FRAGMENT.

Her flowing locks, the raven's wing,Adown her neck and bosom hing;How sweet unto that breast to cling,And round that neck entwine her!
Her lips are roses wet wi' dew!O, what a feast her bonie mou!Her cheeks a mair celestial hue,A crimson still diviner!
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