He's aff the kintra at a spang! He's on the sea - they've tint him! The warst o' weather wi' him gang! Gude weather bide ahint him! O for a rattlin' bauld Scots blast To follow an' owretak' him - To screed his sails, an' brak' his mast, An' grup his ship, an' shak' him. Yet wha was less possessed wi' guile, Or prayed wi' readier unction? He brocht the sweetness o' a smile To every public function. There wasna ane had half the grace Or graciousness o' Peter; There wasna ane in a' the place For the millennium meeter. He's fairly aff, he's stown awa', A wolf that wore a fleece, man! He's cheated justice, jinkit law, An' lauch'd at the policeman. The mission fund, the parish rate, He had the haill control o't; The very pennies i' the plate - He's skirtit wi' the whole o't! It's juist a year - it's no' a year, I'm no' a hair the belder, Since in the Session Chaumer here We made him rulin' elder. An' juist a month as Feursday fell He gat the gold repeater, That in a speech I made mysel We handit owre to Peter. A bonnie lever, capp'd an' jew'ld, Perth never saw the mak' o't, An' wi' his character in goold Engraven on the back o't. He's aff! He's aff wi' a' the spoil, Baith law and justice jinkit! O for wind o' winds the wale To chase his ship an' sink it! To lift the watter like a fleece An' gie him sic a drookin', Whaur on his growf he groans for grace But canna pray for pukin'. Then wash'd owre seas upon a spar, Wi' seaweeds roun' the head o'm, Let neither Licht o' sun nor star Shine down upon the greed o'm! But let a shark fra oonderneath, It's jaws wi' hunger tichtenin', Soom round him, shawin' izzet teeth At every flash o' lichtnin'! Till in the end the angry waves Transport him to a distance To herd wi' wolves an' sterve in caves An' fecht for an existence! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE BEACON; A MUSICAL DRAMA by JOANNA BAILLIE A COUNTRY BURIAL by EMILY DICKINSON IN THE MOONLIGHT by THOMAS HARDY GREEK SONG: 1. THE STORM OF DELPHI by FELICIA DOROTHEA HEMANS ON A VOLUME OF ANONYNOUS POEMS ENTITLED A MASQUE OF POETS by THOMAS BAILEY ALDRICH LINES TO A TEAPOT by JOANNA BAILLIE |