The Poetry of Robert Burns Edited by William Ernest Henley and Thomas F. Henderson |
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SONG: COMPOSED IN AUGUST |
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 | The Poetry of Robert Burns |  |
SONG: COMPOSED IN AUGUST
I
Now westlin winds and slaught'ring gunsBring Autumn's pleasant weather;
The gorcock springs on whirring wings
Amang the blooming heather:
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Delights the weary farmer;
The moon shines bright, as I rove by night
To muse upon my charmer.
II
The paitrick lo'es the fruitfu' fells,The plover lo'es the mountains;
The woodcock haunts the lonely dells,
The soaring hern the fountains;
Thro' lofty groves the cushat roves,
The path o' man to shun it;
The hazel bush o'erhangs the thrush,
The spreading thorn the linnet.
III
Thus ev'ry kind their pleasure find,The savage and the tender;
Some social join, and leagues combine,
Some solitary wander:
Avaunt, away, the cruel sway!
Tyrannic man's dominion!
The sportsman's joy, the murd'ring cry,
The flutt'ring, gory pinion!
IV
But, Peggy dear, the evening's clear,Thick flies the skimming swallow,
The sky is blue, the fields in view
All fading-green and yellow:
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And view the charms of Nature;
The rustling corn, the fruited thorn,
And ilka happy creature.
V
We'll gently walk, and sweetly talk,While the silent moon shines clearly;
I'll clasp thy waist, and, fondly prest,
Swear how I lo'e thee dearly:
Not vernal show'rs to budding flow'rs,
Not Autumn to the farmer,
So dear can be as thou to me,
My fair, my lovely charmer!
| The Poetry of Robert Burns | |