The Death And Dying Words Of Poor Mailie Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis
Rhyme Scheme: A B CCDDEE FGHIJJ KKCC LLCCMMCA NNOO PQMMNN RSMMSSTT CCUVWWSS JJXXMM YYCC MMCC TT| The Author's Only Pet Yowe | A |
| - | |
| An Unco Mournfu' Tale | B |
| - | |
| 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 |
| - | |
| 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 |
| - | |
| 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 |
| - | |
| 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 |
| - | |
| 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 |
| - | |
| 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 |
| - | |
| 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 |
| - | |
| 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 |
| - | |
| 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 |
| - | |
| 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 |
| - | |
| 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 |
| - | |
| This said poor Mailie turn'd her head | T |
| An' closed her een amang the dead | T |
Robert Burns
(1)
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