Robert Burns (1759–1796). Poems and Songs.
The Harvard Classics. 1909–14. |
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| 326. Song—The Posie |
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| O LUVE will venture in where it daur na weel be seen, | |
| O luve will venture in where wisdom ance has been; | |
| But I will doun yon river rove, amang the wood sae green, | |
| And a’ to pu’ a Posie to my ain dear May. | |
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| The primrose I will pu’, the firstling o’ the year, | 5 |
| And I will pu’ the pink, the emblem o’ my dear; | |
| For she’s the pink o’ womankind, and blooms without a peer, | |
| And a’ to be a Posie to my ain dear May. | |
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| I’ll pu’ the budding rose, when Phoebus peeps in view, | |
| For it’s like a baumy kiss o’ her sweet, bonie mou; | 10 |
| The hyacinth’s for constancy wi’ its unchanging blue, | |
| And a’ to be a Posie to my ain dear May. | |
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| The lily it is pure, and the lily it is fair, | |
| And in her lovely bosom I’ll place the lily there; | |
| The daisy’s for simplicity and unaffected air, | 15 |
| And a’ to be a Posie to my ain dear May. | |
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| The hawthorn I will pu’, wi’ its locks o’ siller gray, | |
| Where, like an aged man, it stands at break o’ day; | |
| But the songster’s nest within the bush I winna tak away | |
| And a’ to be a Posie to my ain dear May. | 20 |
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| The woodbine I will pu’, when the e’ening star is near, | |
| And the diamond draps o’ dew shall be her een sae clear; | |
| The violet’s for modesty, which weel she fa’s to wear, | |
| And a’ to be a Posie to my ain dear May. | |
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| I’ll tie the Posie round wi’ the silken band o’ luve, | 25 |
| And I’ll place it in her breast, and I’ll swear by a’ above, | |
| That to my latest draught o’ life the band shall ne’er remove, | |
| And this will be a Posie to my ain dear May. | |
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