| William Stanley Braithwaite, ed. The Book of Georgian Verse. 1909. | | | | The Flowers of the Forest | | By Jane Elliott (1727–1805) |
| | A Lament for Flodden
I’VE heard them lilting, at our ewe-milking, | |
| Lasses a’ lilting before dawn o’ day; | |
| But now they are moaning on ilka green loaning— | |
| The Flowers of the Forest are a’ wede away. | |
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| At bughts, in the morning, nae blythe lads are scorning, | 5 |
| Lasses are lonely and dowie and wae; | |
| Nae daffing, nae gabbing, but sighing and sabbing, | |
| Ilk ane lifts her leglin and hies her away. | |
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| In hairst, at the shearing, nae youths now are jeering, | |
| The bandsters are lyart, and runkled and grey; | 10 |
| At fair or at preaching, nae wooing, nae fleeching— | |
| The Flowers of the Forest are a’ wede away. | |
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| At e’en, in the gloaming, nae swankies are roaming | |
| ’Bout stacks wi’ the lasses at bogle to play; | |
| But ilk ane sits eerie, lamenting her dearie— | 15 |
| The Flowers of the Forest are a’ wede away. | |
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| Dool and wae for the order sent our lads to the Border! | |
| The English, for ance, by guile won the day; | |
| The Flowers of the Forest, that fought aye the foremost, | |
| The prime of our land, lie cauld in the clay. | 20 |
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| We’ll hear nae more lilting at our ewe-milking, | |
| Women and bairns are heartless and wae; | |
| Sighing and moaning on ilka green loaning, | |
| The Flowers of the Forest are a’ wede away. | | | | |
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