The Works of The Ettrick Shepherd Centenary Edition. With a Memoir of the Author, by the Rev. Thomas Thomson ... Poems and Life. With Many Illustrative Engravings [by James Hogg] |
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Mary at her Lover's Grave.
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 | The Works of The Ettrick Shepherd |  |
Mary at her Lover's Grave.
How swift flew the time, when I stray'd with my Jamie
On flower-fringed valleys by Yarrow's fair stream!
But all I held precious is now taken from me:
Sure every excess of delight is a dream!
Of fate I had never complained as unkindly,
Had it to a bed or a prison confined me,
Reproach, shame, and ruin, before and behind me,
Had Jamie been by me in every extreme.
On flower-fringed valleys by Yarrow's fair stream!
But all I held precious is now taken from me:
Sure every excess of delight is a dream!
Of fate I had never complained as unkindly,
Had it to a bed or a prison confined me,
Reproach, shame, and ruin, before and behind me,
Had Jamie been by me in every extreme.
But there, where my heart I had treasur'd for ever,
Where all my affections on earth were bestow'd,
With one fatal stroke to destroy; and to sever
Two bosoms with purest affection that glow'd!
Now dim is the eye that beam'd beauty and splendour,
And cold is the heart, that was constant and tender;
The sweet cherry lips to the worm must surrender,
With wisdom and truth that delightfully flow'd.
Where all my affections on earth were bestow'd,
With one fatal stroke to destroy; and to sever
Two bosoms with purest affection that glow'd!
Now dim is the eye that beam'd beauty and splendour,
And cold is the heart, that was constant and tender;
The sweet cherry lips to the worm must surrender,
With wisdom and truth that delightfully flow'd.
Hence, comfort and pleasure! I cannot endure ye;
Here, on this new grave, will I bid you adieu:
My reason is bleeding, and here will I bury
That mirror, where clearly my misery I view.
O thou who the days of all mankind hast measur'd,
A fate with my Jamie I'll cheerfully hazard!
Then drive me distracted to roam in the desert,
Or bear me to him, that our joys may renew.
Here, on this new grave, will I bid you adieu:
My reason is bleeding, and here will I bury
That mirror, where clearly my misery I view.
O thou who the days of all mankind hast measur'd,
A fate with my Jamie I'll cheerfully hazard!
Then drive me distracted to roam in the desert,
Or bear me to him, that our joys may renew.
Else, even in death my fond arms shall inclose him,
And my dust mix with his as we moulder away:
For here, with my hands, will I dig to his bosom,
Where closely I'll cling till the dawn of the day.
When the moon and the stars with a sob shall expire,
And the sun burst away like a flash of pale fire;
Then higher and higher we'll jointly aspire
To friendship that never shall end nor decay.
And my dust mix with his as we moulder away:
For here, with my hands, will I dig to his bosom,
Where closely I'll cling till the dawn of the day.
When the moon and the stars with a sob shall expire,
And the sun burst away like a flash of pale fire;
Then higher and higher we'll jointly aspire
To friendship that never shall end nor decay.
| The Works of The Ettrick Shepherd | |