Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, GRANNIE'S INGLE-SIDE, by JAMES M. NEILSON


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

GRANNIE'S INGLE-SIDE, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: The craw the highest fir may tap
Last Line: The days at grannie's ingle-side!
Subject(s): Grandparents; Grandmothers; Grandfathers; Great Grandfathers; Great Grandmothers


THE craw the highest fir may tap,
The bee the sweetest blossom seek,
The thistle's hame be Scotland's lap,
The swain may court the rosy cheek;
But, ask the bairnies whaur they'd be --
What's best owre a' the world beside? --
They'll haud their flaxen heids fu' hie,
An' shout -- "It's Grannie's Ingle-side!"

When buskit oot in braw new claes,
Auld Grannie's hansel's never miss't;
Wee feet wi' thorns, an' trampit taes,
Are buckl't best when Grannie does't.
For orra ailments o' the bairns,
Her ready skill can sune provide;
For muckle, muckle Grannie learns
Frae first she owns an Ingle-side!

When mither owre them craws sae croose,
An' faither threats to use the tawse,
A kind word's aye in Grannie's hoose --
Their fortress is their Grannie's wa's.
When bairns wi' bairns fa' oot at play,
An' on some wee dispute divide,
Auld Grannie's sowers't wi' her say --
They're sune made freens at her fireside.

When strings o' stories Grannie tells,
'Bout giants, witches, ghaists an' a',
That skelpit owre the ferny fells,
An' cantrips play'd in castles braw,
Their faces never brichter shone --
Ilk day frae morn till nicht they'd bide;
As loyal subjects to a throne,
Are they to Grannie's Ingle-side.

She counsels them on wrang and richt,
An' guid advice she'll aften gie;
She warns them o' the ills that blicht,
An' snares spread oot to please the e'e:
For she has kenn'd the warld fu' lang,
An's e'en a tried an' trusty guide;
Her counsel has sic wecht amang
The bairns aroun' her Ingle-side.

But Grannie's gettin' auld an' frail,
As bairns grow up to maids an' men;
The day's at han' maun tell a tale
On wrinkled three-score years an' ten.
But maids an' men she'll leave ahint
Will count the gowden hours wi' pride
They've treasur'd up in Memory's mint --
The days at Grannie's Ingle-side!





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