OWRE a' Parnassus I hae wannert, Wi' beuk in han' I slowly daunert, An' aft baith hert an' een gaed dancin' Abune some bricht rock-crystal glancin' Amang the stanes or in the soil, That weel repaid me for my toil. To tell the truth I didna ettle To fin' sae muckle bardic mettle, Or pouch sae many bonny gems Amang the heather cowes an' stems That cleed oor Scotch Parnassian mountain, Adoon whilk rins Castalia's fountain. It's ca'd, ye ken, the Muse's Spring, Whaur drouthy poets drink and sing, Ere fame or fortune's haun' ye claucht, Ye first maun tak' a waly-waucht O' this same sang-inspirin' water— An' syne ye'll rhyme, an' sing, an' clatter. A waly-waucht gat Ayrshire Rab— It clear't his thrapple, cool't his gab, An' syne sae loud an' sweet he sang, That a' the warl' wi' echoes rang, Till on that kittle steed Pegasus He wan the tap o' mount Parnassus; An' there he sits, an' wha wull steer him? Nae ither singer e'er cam' near him— Frae neath the yirth, or on't abune, Nane e'er could lilt to Rabbie's tune. For me I ne'er cou'd fill my caup Oot o' the spring—a wee bit drap Was a' that e'er gaed owre my weasan— E'en noo my gab begins to geysan, An' sae I fin it maist expedient That I should say—yer maist obedient | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...IN HONOR OF TAFFY TOPAZ by CHRISTOPHER DARLINGTON MORLEY THE HOUSE OF LIFE: 71. THE CHOICE (1) by DANTE GABRIEL ROSSETTI DEATH THE LEVELLER, FR. THE CONTENTION OF AJAX AND ULYSSES by JAMES SHIRLEY THE CLINGING VINE by ANTIPATER OF SIDON THE BLIND ASTRONOMER by THOMAS ASA THE DAYS OF '84 by RANDOLPH BEDFORD CONTENTMENT, OR, THE HAPPY WORKMAN'S SONG by JOHN BYROM |