Lays and Legends of Ancient Greece, with Other Poems By John Stuart Blackie |
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THE EMIGRANT'S FAREWELL TO EDINBURGH. |
 | Lays and Legends of Ancient Greece, with Other Poems |  |
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THE EMIGRANT'S FAREWELL TO EDINBURGH.
The Earth is drest in leafy June;
'Mid fleecy banners white
The Sun rides through the azure noon:
But in my heart 'tis night.
The blackbird from the wood doth pour
His mellow-throated troll,
But like the pewit o'er the moor
So wails my desert soul
This heavy day!
'Mid fleecy banners white
The Sun rides through the azure noon:
But in my heart 'tis night.
The blackbird from the wood doth pour
His mellow-throated troll,
But like the pewit o'er the moor
So wails my desert soul
This heavy day!
Flow freely, tears!—I will not stay
The tide that Nature sends;
These tears ye have(my all to-day)
Whom I have left, my friends.
I vowed to bear a manly heart,
And like a rock to stand;
But, oh! 'tis hard in one to part
From friend and fatherland,
As I this day!
The tide that Nature sends;
These tears ye have(my all to-day)
Whom I have left, my friends.
332
And like a rock to stand;
But, oh! 'tis hard in one to part
From friend and fatherland,
As I this day!
Farewell, Dun-Edin's castled seat,
Dear, and thou, dearer still,
Where oft we clomb blithe May to greet.
The lion-crouching hill!
And the high crags, where we did walk
Bewondering the rocks,
And of pent fires wove learned talk,
And terrible earthquake shocks
'Fore Adam's day!
Dear, and thou, dearer still,
Where oft we clomb blithe May to greet.
The lion-crouching hill!
And the high crags, where we did walk
Bewondering the rocks,
And of pent fires wove learned talk,
And terrible earthquake shocks
'Fore Adam's day!
Farewell, green Pentland's pastoral braes.
The rock, the scaur, the glen,
The burn that wimples mazy ways
Sweet through the furzy den!
And many a peak where Boreas snorts,
And I would climb with glee,
Blessing our chain of mountain forts
That make us bold and free,
And strong as they!
The rock, the scaur, the glen,
The burn that wimples mazy ways
Sweet through the furzy den!
And many a peak where Boreas snorts,
And I would climb with glee,
Blessing our chain of mountain forts
That make us bold and free,
And strong as they!
333
Farewell, thou beauty-skirted Firth,
With glancing islets spotted;
Farewell, thou land of wealth and mirth,
With busy cities dotted.
Ban thee who will, and stay at home,
The coldest, bleakest, barest;
But force him, Fate, abroad to roam,
He'll bless thee, freshest, fairest,
As I this day!
With glancing islets spotted;
Farewell, thou land of wealth and mirth,
With busy cities dotted.
Ban thee who will, and stay at home,
The coldest, bleakest, barest;
But force him, Fate, abroad to roam,
He'll bless thee, freshest, fairest,
As I this day!
Farewell, the homes that I have known,
The skies that I have loved,
Each heart that I have called mine own,
Each friend that I have proved!
Farewell; and, if the Heavens be kind,
A better-omened oar
Shall speed me back from scorching Ind,
To my green native shore,
Some future day!
The skies that I have loved,
Each heart that I have called mine own,
Each friend that I have proved!
Farewell; and, if the Heavens be kind,
A better-omened oar
Shall speed me back from scorching Ind,
To my green native shore,
Some future day!
| Lays and Legends of Ancient Greece, with Other Poems | |