Willie Winkie and Other Songs and Poems By William Miller: Edited, with an Introduction by Robert Ford |
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To Peter Orr, Esq.
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 | Willie Winkie and Other Songs and Poems |  |
To Peter Orr, Esq.
What would I not give if my Muse,
Would furnish me richly in metre,
For who more deserving of praise,
For goodness of heart, than thee, Peter.
Would furnish me richly in metre,
For who more deserving of praise,
For goodness of heart, than thee, Peter.
Or(r) what language fit grandeur can boast,
Save the union of measure and metre;
To tell when you're down at the coast,
What us Glasgow folks lose in thee, Peter.
Save the union of measure and metre;
To tell when you're down at the coast,
What us Glasgow folks lose in thee, Peter.
However majestic the prose
I might use, it is nothing to metre,
For fine rolling numbers must praise
Such a musical soul, as thee, Peter.
I might use, it is nothing to metre,
For fine rolling numbers must praise
Such a musical soul, as thee, Peter.
70
So now, though I finish my rhyme,
Don't think I have run short of metre;
I'll yet sketch you full length in a chime
More worthy of thee and me, Peter.
Don't think I have run short of metre;
I'll yet sketch you full length in a chime
More worthy of thee and me, Peter.
There are two Poets(?) of the same name,
Each think, other less, he the greater;
They think each other open to blame,
Did you e'er hear the “Gowan Lea” Peter?
Each think, other less, he the greater;
They think each other open to blame,
Did you e'er hear the “Gowan Lea” Peter?
If the greater would deign thee to praise,
He might do it much better and neater;
But one thing he wants—that's the way
That I write my poetry Poetry Peter.
He might do it much better and neater;
But one thing he wants—that's the way
That I write my poetry Poetry Peter.
I know you are fond of a joke—
As they'll laugh at my replicate metre;
I thought I would take the first stroke,
Will that make us quits, think you, Peter?
As they'll laugh at my replicate metre;
I thought I would take the first stroke,
Will that make us quits, think you, Peter?
| Willie Winkie and Other Songs and Poems | |