Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, A MOTHER'S LAMENT FOR THE DEATH OF HER BOY-CHILD, by PETER GARDINER


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

A MOTHER'S LAMENT FOR THE DEATH OF HER BOY-CHILD, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: The warm simmer sun in his glory is shinin'
Last Line: Or hoo can a mither dae wantin' her bairn?
Subject(s): Children; Death - Mothers; Childhood; Dead, The


THE warm simmer sun in his glory is shinin',
An' tranquil an' blue is his path to the west;
In the east-lift a wee snaw-white cloud is reclinin',
Like a bairnie asleep on a fond mother's breast.
But my een, sair wi' greetin', my heart cauld an' stony,
Through thick mists o' sorrow nae beauty can see;
The snawy-white cloudie reminds me o' Johnnie,
As, wrapped in his gounie, he slept on my knee.

The saft westlin' win' soughs alang the gay meadow,
An' flutters the green plumes that nod on the trees;
Through the leafy-roof'd aisle, strip'd wi' sunshine an' shadow,
Flow'r-scents an' burd-warblin's are borne on the breeze.
Here my bairnie an' me aft hae wander'd thegither,
O! Death, thou hast robb'd me o' a' earthly joy;
The sparrow's wee fledgeling can chirp to its mither,
But mute is the voice o' my bonnie wee boy.

At nicht when the starnies are timidly keekin',
Wi' tearfu' wee een frae the face o' the sky,
Then my puir bruised heart goeth aimlessly seekin',
The spot where the spirit o' Johnnie may lie.
O! they tell me he's safe in the Shepherd's warm bosom,
They say that it's sinfu' to grieve or repine,
But O! when I see a wee bairnie that's lo'esome,
God help me! I canna help yearning for mine.

On the face o' the heaven -- the bosom o' nature,
Wherever, distracted, I turn my sad e'e,
There is something recalls to my mind ilka feature --
The image o' Johnnie is a'where to me.
Kind Heaven! if we only could a' gang thegither,
Then Death wadna seem sae remorseless an' stern;
But hoo can a bairnie dae wantin' its mither?
Or hoo can a mither dae wantin' her bairn?





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