Lament of Mary Queen of Scots

The original manuscripts of Lament of Mary Queen of Scots, written in Burns' own hand.   Lament of Mary, Queen of Scots, on the Approach of Spring Now nature hangs her mantle green On every blooming tree, And spreads her sheets o' daisies white Out o'er the grassy lea: Now Phoebus cheers the crystal streams, And glads the azure skies; But nought can glad the weary wight That fast in durance lies. Now laverocks wake the merry morn, Aloft on dewy wing; The merle, in his noontide bow'r, Makes woodland echoes ring; The mavis mild wi' mony a note, Sings drowsy day to rest: In love and freedom they rejoice, Wi' care nor thrall opprest. Now blooms the lily by the bank, The primrose down the brae; The hawthorn budding in the glen, And milk-white is the slae: The meanest hind in fair Scotland May rove their weet amang; But I, the Queen of a' Scotland, Maun lie in prison strang. I was the Queen o' bonnie France, Where happy I hae been; Fu' lightly rase I in the morn, As blythe lay down at e'en: And I'm the overeign of Scotland, And mony a traitor there; Yet here I lie in foreign bands, And never-ending care. But a for thee, thou false woman, My sister and my fae Grim vengeance yet shall whet a word That thro' thy soul shall gae: The weeping blood in woman's breast Was never known to thee; Nor th' balm that drap on wound of woe Frae woman's pitying ee. My son! my son! may kinder stars Upon thy fortune shine; And may those pleasures gild thy reign, That ne'er wad blink on mine! God keep thee frae thy mother's faes, Or turn their hearts to thee: And where thou meet'st thy mother's friend, Remember him for me! O! soon, to me, may summer-suns Nae mair light up the morn! Nae mair, to me, the autumn winds Wave o'er the yellow corn! And in the narrow house o' death Let winter round me rave; And the next flow'rs that deck the spring Bloom on my peaceful grave!   Part of the James McKie Collection.  
Object no :
EADO008a
Collection :
Creator :
Robert Burns
Place of Production :
NA
Dimensions :
205 x 325mm
Materials :
paper
Location :
NA
Accession number :
BU_A.0021
Copyright :
East Ayrshire Council
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