Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, MY MARY, by JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

MY MARY, by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: My mary, o my mary!
Last Line: An' I dinna find ye there?
Alternate Author Name(s): Johnson Of Boone, Benj. F.
Subject(s): Love; Nature; Spring; Summer


MY Mary, O my Mary!
The simmer skies are blue:
The dawnin' brings the dazzle,
An' the gloamin' brings the dew, --
The mirk o' nicht the glory
O' the moon, an' kindles, too,
The stars that shift aboon the lift. --
But naething brings me you!

Where is it, O my Mary,
Ye are biding a' the while?
I ha' wended by your window --
I ha' waited by the stile,
An' up an' down the river
I ha' won for mony a mile,
Yet never found, adrift or drown'd,
Your lang-belated smile.

Is it forgot, my Mary,
How glad we used to be? --
the simmer-time when bonny bloomed
The auld trysting-tree, --
How there I carved the name for you,
An' you the name for me;
An' the gloamin' kenned it only
When we kissed sae tenderly.

Speek ance to me, my Mary! --
But whisper in my ear
As light as only sleeper's breath,
An' a' my soul will hear;
My heart shall stap its beating,
An' the soughing atmosphere
Be hushed the while I leaning smile
An' listen to you, dear!

My Mary, O my Mary!
The blossoms bring the bees;
The sunshine brings the blossoms,
An' the leaves on a' the trees;
The simmer brings the sunshine
An' the fragrance o' the breeze, --
But O wi'out you, Mary,
I care naething for these!

We were sae happy, Mary!
O think how ance we said --
Wad ane o' us gae fickle,
Or ane o' us lie dead, --
To feel anither's kisses
We wad feign the auld instead,
An' ken the ither's footsteps
In the green grass owerhead.

My Mary, O my Mary!
Are ye dochter o' the air,
That ye vanish aye before me
As I follow everywhere? --
Or is it ye are only
But a mortal, wan wi' care,
Sin' I search through a' the kirkyird
An' I dinna find ye there?





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