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Inspiration for the Spirit

A lovely place to wander for poetry and inspiration to soothe the soul

Robert Burns

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Robert BurnsRobert Burns (1759-1796) was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the National Poet of Scotland and a cultural icon. Though much of his poems are in English with a light Scots dialect, he is well known for his skill at writing in the Scots language. His many casual love affairs were legendary. One of his earliest poems, O, Once I Lov’d a Bonnie Lass, was inspired by a young girl named, Nelly Kilpatrick, who worked on his father’s farm during the harvest of 1774. Famous songs he wrote include Auld Lang Syne (1788) and A Red, Red Rose (1794).

PASSIONATE . TENDER . AMOROUS
"Days End" by Sheri Dinardi

“Days End” by Sheri Dinardi

O, Once I Lov’d a Bonie Lass

Once I lov’d a bonie lass,
Ay, and I love her still;
And whilst that virtue warms my breast,
I’ll love my handsome Nell.

As bonie lasses I hae seen,
And mony full as braw;
But, for a modest gracefu’ mein,
The like I never saw.

A bonie lass, I will confess,
Is pleasant to the e’e;
But, without some better qualities,
She’s no a lass for me.

But Nelly’s looks are blythe and sweet,
And what is best of a’,
Her reputation is complete,
And fair without a flaw.

She dresses aye sae clean and neat,
Both decent and genteel;
And then there’s something in her gait
Gars ony dress look weel.

A gaudy dress and gentle air
May slightly touch the heart;
But it’s innocence and modesty
That polishes the dart.

‘Tis this in Nelly pleases me,
‘Tis this enchants my soul;
For absolutely in my breast
She reigns without control.

To a Kiss

Humid seal of soft affections,
Tend’rest pledge of future bliss,
Dearest tie of young connections,
Love’s first snow-drop, virgin kiss.

Speaking silence, dumb confession,
Passion’s birth, and infants’ play,
Dove-like fondness, chaste concession,
Glowing dawn of brighter day.

Sorrowing joy, adieu’s last action,
Ling’ring lips,—no more to join!
What words can ever speak affection
Thrilling and sincere as thine!

A Red, Red Rose

O my Luve is like a red, red rose
That’s newly sprung in June;
O my Luve is like the melody
That’s sweetly played in tune.

So fair art thou, my bonnie lass,
So deep in luve am I;
And I will luve thee still, my dear,
Till a’ the seas gang dry.

Till a’ the seas gang dry, my dear,
And the rocks melt wi’ the sun;
I will love thee still, my dear,
While the sands o’ life shall run.

And fare thee weel, my only luve!
And fare thee weel awhile!
And I will come again, my luve,
Though it were ten thousand mile.

Painting: “Days End” by Sheri Dinardi, oil on linen. Private collection.
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My Poems
Guest Poets
Selected Poems
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Featured Poets

  • Eliza Acton
  • Anne Bradstreet
  • Elizabeth Barrett Browning
  • Robert Browning
  • Robert Burns
  • George Gordon, Lord Byron
  • Samuel Taylor Coleridge
  • William Cowper
  • John Donne
  • Johann von Goethe
  • Robert Herrick
  • Thomas Hood
  • John Keats
  • D. H. Lawrence
  • Richard Lovelace
  • Amy Lowell
  • Christopher Marlowe
  • Aleksandr Pushkin
  • Sir Walter Ralegh
  • Christina Rossetti
  • Dante Gabriel Rossetti
  • William Shakespeare
  • Percy Bysshe Shelley
  • Edmund Spenser
  • Alfred, Lord Tennyson
  • John Wilbye
  • Ella Wheeler Wilcox
  • William Wordsworth

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