Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE MAID THAT TENDS THE GOATS, by WILLIAM DUDGEON


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE MAID THAT TENDS THE GOATS, by             Poem Explanation        
First Line: Up amang yon cliffy rocks
Last Line: "come short, though they were e'er sae lang."
Subject(s): Love; Shepherds & Shepherdesses


UP amang yon cliffy rocks
Sweetly rings the rising echo
To the maid that tends the goats,
Lilting o'er her native notes.
Hark, she sings, "Young Sandy's kind,
And he's promised aye to lo'e me;
Here's a brooch I ne'er shall tine
Till he's fairly married to me.
Drive away, ye drone, time,
And bring about our bridal day.

"Sandy herds a flock o' sheep;
Aften does he blaw the whistle
In a strain sae saftly sweet,
Lammies list'ning daurna bleat.
He's as fleet's the mountain roe,
Hardy as the Highland heather,
Wading through the winter snow,
Keeping aye his flock together.
But a plaid, wi' bare houghs,
He braves the bleakest norlin blast.

"Brawly he can dance and sing
Canty glee, or Highland cronach;
Nane can ever match his fling
At a reel, or round a ring.
Wightly can he wield a rung;
In a brawl he's aye the bangster;
A' his praise can ne'er be sung
By the langest-winded sangster.
Sangs that sing o' Sandy
Come short, though they were e'er sae lang."





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