Classic and Contemporary Poetry
GRANNIE'S TALE: A BALLAD O' MEMORIE, by JANET HAMILTON Poet's Biography First Line: The days o' langsyne, oh! The days o' langsyne Last Line: "in that grave lay his wife an' four bairnies dear." Alternate Author Name(s): Hamilton, Janet Thompson Subject(s): Grandparents; Memory; Past; Grandmothers; Grandfathers; Great Grandfathers; Great Grandmothers | ||||||||
THE days o' langsyne, oh! the days o' langsyne, Sweet thochts o' the bygane I never s'all tyne; Tho' darklin' I sit in my muckle arm chair, Aul' places, aul' faces, I see them a' there. O lanely Blackhill! nae sun-picture can gi'e Sae faithfu' a likeness as I ha'e o' thee: It was ta'en when the sun o' young memorie was bricht, An' set in my heart in a crystal o' licht. In the lang winter nichts, whan a bairn, I wad sit Wi' my taes in the ase at Grannie's wheel fit, An' the croon o' her sang, an' the birr o' her wheel, I ne'er heard the music I likit sae weel. She sang o' Gil Morice, an' young Gregor's ghost, The twa bonnie babes in the wud that were lost, An' Bothwell's fair dochter, the young Leddy Jean, That was droon'd in the Clyde ae weird Hallowe'en. Sae waesome, sae saft, an' sae sweet was the strain, That I kenn'd na if maist it was pleasure or pain That moisten'd my e'en an' dirled my heart, But noo, whan I think on't, they baith had a pairt. My Grannie believed in nae cantrip or spell; 'Bout ghaist, witch, or fairy, nae tale wad she tell; Sic things by douce bodies, she said, were ne'er seen, An' they ha'e little gumption that trow them, I ween. She had heard, she had seen, an' thocht for hersel', An' sae she had mony true stories to tell; But ane she aye tauld wi' the tear in her e'e, That story I'll min' till the day that I dee. Said Grannie, "Whan I was a lass in my teens, Ne'er thinkin' what pinchin' or poverty means, There leev'd within cry o' my ain faither's door, A cottar, his wife, wi' their young bairnies four. "On a saxpence a day, in times o' dear meal, Sax bodies, ye ken, cou'dna fen unco weel, But the mither the best an' the maist o't wad mak', Tho' whiles the poor bairnies a mealtith wad lack. "Aye patient, an' hopeful, an' cheerfu' the wife Wad never be beat in the battle o' life; But the man he wad murmur, an' say in his min' That Providence never to him had been kin'. "An' sae whan the fifth ane, a sweet lassie bairn, Was laid in his arms, he was sairly forfairn; Nae kin' kiss o' welcome he offer'd to gi'e, Tho' the puir mither watched wi' the tear in her e'e. "The very neist day their aul' laddie, wee Tam, Wi' the caul' an' the weet whan biggin' a dam Across a bit syke, took a stoppin' o' breath, On the fourth day was laid in the caul' arms o' death. "An' syne the neist brither, the cantie wee Rabbie, The mither's ain pet, aye sae steerin' an' gabbie, Was droon'd in the burn; he was waidin' alane Whaur naebody saw till the life it was gane. "The neist were twin-lassies; the sma'-pox had gane Roun' the hale kintra-side, the twasome were ta'en; It was muckle they dree'd, but three days atween, Frae ae bed to ae grave were carried, I ween. "But oh, the puir mither! hoo fen'd she the while? She was worn oot wi' watchin', wi' sorrow, an' toil; For want o' things needfu' her bosom was dry, An' the wee greetin' wean gat little supply. "She lay on the bed that she rose frae nae mair, The heart stricken faither leuk'd roun' in despair; His bairnies were gane, an' the mither wad gang. An' lie doon beside them before it was lang. "He sat by her bed, an' he sat a' alane, Her caul' haun in his, till the breath it was gane, Whan Grannie cam' in: she had aften been there To help them an' tend them, an' cheer their despair. "Frae the dead mither's side he lifted the wean; On its face an' wee haunies the tears fell like rain: 'God bless thee an' spare thee, my mitherless bairn; A gude, but sair lesson thou'st gi'en me to learn. "'O Jenny!' he said, 'I ha'e something to say, That I never ha'e tauld till this sorrowfu' day; O' the gudeness o' God a while I had doot In this I hae sinn'd, an' my sin's faund me oot. "'Whan I first saw this bairnie the nicht she cam' hame, I said in my heart, to my sin an' my shame, When the cravin' wee mouthie it opened to greet, Anither mouth sent me, but whaur is the meat? "'But, oh! I am punish'd richt sune an' richt sair, My bairns are a' gane, an' the mither lies there, Nane left but this wee cravin' mouthie to eat, Oh! whaur are the mouths noo, for there is the meat?' "Wi' her e'en fu' o' tears, an' heart fu' o' wae, My grannie stood still till the man had his say; She keek'd in the bed wi' a face like a clout, Syne ran for some neibours, wha laid the corse oot. "A kin' wifie cam', an' said, 'Gi'e me the wean, I'll think I ha'e twins, for I've ane o' my ain.' An' the mitherless lamb at her bosom was fed, An' like her ain bairnie was cared for an' clad. "Lang years afterhen, on the gowany sward That happit a grave in Cam'nethan kirkyard, There sat an aul' manhe was seen ilka year In that grave lay his wife an' four bairnies dear." | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...KISS GRANDMOTHERS GOOD NIGHT by ANDREW HUDGINS KICKING THE LEAVES by DONALD HALL THE BOOK OF SCAPEGOATS by WAYNE KOESTENBAUM THE GREAT GRANDPARENTS by TED KOOSER A BALLAD FOUNDED ON A REAL INCIDENT WHICH OCCURED IN HIGH LIFE by JANET HAMILTON |
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