The Poetry of Robert Burns Edited by William Ernest Henley and Thomas F. Henderson |
 | I. |
| 2. |
 | III. |
THEIR GROVES O' SWEET MYRTLE |
| IV. |
 | The Poetry of Robert Burns |  |
THEIR GROVES O' SWEET MYRTLE
I
Their groves o' sweet myrtle let foreign lands reckon,Where bright-beaming summers exalt the perfume!
Far dearer to me yon lone glen o' green breckan,
Wi' the burn stealing under the lang, yellow broom;
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Where the blue-bell and gowan lurk lowly, unseen;
For there, lightly tripping among the wild flowers,
A-list'ning the linnet, aft wanders my Jean.
II
Tho' rich is the breeze in their gay, sunny vallies,And cauld Caledonia's blast on the wave,
Their sweet-scented woodlands that skirt the proud palace,
What are they?—The haunt of the tyrant and slave!
The slave's spicy forests and gold-bubbling fountains
The brave Caledonian views wi' disdain:
He wanders as free as the winds of his mountains,
Save Love's willing fetters—the chains o' his Jean.
| The Poetry of Robert Burns | |