But pleasures are like poppies spread You seize the flow'r, its bloom is shed Or like the snow falls in the river A moment white then melts for ever Or like the borealis race That flit ere you can point their place Or like the rainbow's lovely form Evanishing amid the storm Nae man can tether time or tide The hour approaches Tam maun ride
But here my Muse her wing maun cour Sic flights as far beyond her power To sing how Nannie lap and flang ( A souple jad she was and strang) And how Tam stood like ane bewitch'd And thought his very een enrich'd Even Satan glowr'd, and fidg'd fu' fain And hotch'd and blew wi' might and main Till first ae caper, syne anither Tam tint his reason a' thegither And roars out, "Weel done, Cutty-sark!" And in an instant all was dark And scarcely had he Maggie rallied When out the hellish legion sallied As bees bizz out wi' angry fyke When plundering herds assail their byke As open pussie's mortal foes When, pop! she starts before their nose As eager runs the market-crowd When 'catch the thief' resounds aloud So Maggie runs, the witches follow Wi' money an eldritch skreech and hollow
To listen to more spoken word click on the relevant poem A Man's a Man. My Love is Like a Red, Red, Rose. Auld Lang Syne. Epistle to Davie. O were I on Parnassus Hill. Ae Fond Kiss. To a Louse. To a Mouse.
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