Love
Thou Kens't, Mary Hay
From The Modern Scottish Minstrel, vol. 2 (1855–57)
Thou ken'st, Mary Hay, that I loe thee weel,
My ain auld wife, sae canty and leal,
Then what gars thee stand wi' the tear in thine e'e,
And look aye sae wae, when thou look'st at me?
Dost thou miss, Mary Hay, the saft bloom o' my cheek,
And the hair curling round it, sae gentie and sleek?
For the snaw 's on my head, and the roses are gane,
Since that day o' days I first ca'd thee my ain.
But though, Mary Hay, my auld e'en be grown dim,
An age, wi' its frost, maks cauld every limb,
My heart, thou kens weel, has nae cauldness for thee,
For simmer returns at the blink o' thine e'e.
The miser hauds firmer and firmer his gold,
The ivy sticks close to the tree, when its old,
And still thou grows't dearer to me, Mary Hay,
As a' else turns eerie, and life wears away.
We maun part, Mary Hay, when our journey is done,
But I 'll meet thee again in the bricht world aboon,
Then what gars thee stand wi' the tear in thine e'e,
And look aye sae wae when thou look'st at me?
Cite this poem
MLA
Duncan, Henry, D.D. “Thou Kens't, Mary Hay.” Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/duncan/5/.
Chicago
Duncan, Henry, D.D. “Thou Kens't, Mary Hay.” Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/duncan/5/.
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