English Poetry II: From Collins to Fitzgerald.
The Harvard Classics. 1909–14. |
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| 334. The Rowan Tree |
| | | Carolina Oliphant, Lady Nairne (1766–1845) |
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| O ROWAN 1 tree, O rowan tree! thou’lt aye be dear to me! | |
| Intwined thou art wi’ mony ties o’ hame and infancy. | |
| Thy leaves were aye the first o’ spring, thy flowers the simmer’s pride; | |
| There wasna sic 2 a bonnie tree in a’ the country side. | |
| O rowan tree! | 5 |
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| How fair wert thou in simmer time, wi’ a’ thy clusters white, | |
| How rich and gay thy autumn dress, wi’ berries red and bright! | |
| On thy fair stem were mony names which now nae mair I see, | |
| But they’re engraven on my heart—forgot they ne’er can be! | |
| O rowan tree! | 10 |
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| We sat aneath thy spreading shade, the bairnies round thee ran, | |
| They pu’d thy bonnie berries red, and necklaces they strang. | |
| My mother! O I see her still, she smiled our sports to see, | |
| Wi’ little Jeanie on her lap, and Jamie at her knee. | |
| O rowan tree! | 15 |
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| O there arose my father’s prayer, in holy evening’s calm; | |
| How sweet was then my mother’s voice in the Martyr’s psalm! | |
| Now a’ are gane! we meet na mair aneath the rowan tree! | |
| But hallowed thoughts around thee twine o’ hame and infancy. | |
| O rowan tree! | 20 |
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