Death And Dying Words Of Poor Mailie, The Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis
Rhyme Scheme: A B CCDDEE FGHIJJ KKCC LLCCMMCA NNOO PQMMNN RSMMSSTT CCUVWWSS JJXXMM YYCC MMCC TTThe Author's Only Pet Yowe | A |
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An Unco Mournfu' Tale | B |
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As Mailie an' her lambs thegither | C |
Was ae day nibbling on the tether | C |
Upon her cloot she coost a hitch | D |
An owre she warsl'd in the ditch | D |
There groaning dying she did lie | E |
When Hughoc he cam doytin by | E |
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Wi' glowrin een and lifted han's | F |
Poor Hughoc like a statue stan's | G |
He saw her days were near hand ended | H |
But wae's my heart he could na mend it | I |
He gaped wide but naething spak | J |
At length poor Mailie silence brak | J |
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O thou whase lamentable face | K |
Appears to mourn my woefu' case | K |
My dying words attentive hear | C |
An' bear them to my Master dear | C |
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Tell him if e'er again he keep | L |
As muckle gear as buy a sheep | L |
O bid him never tie them mair | C |
Wi' wicked strings o' hemp or hair | C |
But ca' them out to park or hill | M |
An' let them wander at their will | M |
So may his flock increase an' grow | C |
To scores o' lambs an' packs o' woo' | A |
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Tell him he was a Master kin' | N |
An' aye was guid to me an' mine | N |
An now my dying charge I gie him | O |
My helpless lambs I trust them wi' him | O |
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O bid him save their harmless lives | P |
Frae dogs an' tods an' butchers' knives | Q |
But gie them guid cow milk their fill | M |
Till they be fit to fend themsel' | M |
An' tent them duly e'en an' morn | N |
Wi' taets o' hay an' ripps o' corn | N |
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An' may they never learn the gates | R |
Of ither vile wanrestfu' pets | S |
To slink thro' slaps an' reave an' steal | M |
At stacks o' pease or stocks o' kail | M |
So may they like their great forbears | S |
For mony a year come thro' the shears | S |
So wives will gie them bits o' bread | T |
An bairns greet for them when they're dead | T |
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My poor toop lamb my son an' heir | C |
O bid him breed him up wi' care | C |
An' if he live to be a beast | U |
To pit some havins in his breast | V |
An' warn him what I winna name | W |
To stay content wi' yowes at hame | W |
An' no to rin an' wear his cloots | S |
Like ither meseless graceless brutes | S |
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An' neist my yowie silly thing | J |
Gude keep thee frae a tether string | J |
O may thou ne'er forgather up | X |
Wi' ony blastit moorland toop | X |
But aye keep mind to moop an' mell | M |
Wi' sheep o' credit like thysel' | M |
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And now my bairns wi' my last breath | Y |
I lea'e my blessin wi' you baith | Y |
An' when you think upo' your mither | C |
Mind to be kind to ane anither | C |
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Now honest Hughoc dinna fail | M |
To tell my master a' my tale | M |
An' bid him burn this cursed tether | C |
An' for thy pains thou'se get my blather | C |
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This said poor Mailie turn'd her head | T |
An' closed her een amang the dead | T |
Robert Burns
(1)
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