Love Letter

Ah, Maggy, thou art gane away,
And left me here to languish,
To daunder on frae day to day,
Swathed in a sort o' anguish.
My mind's the aspen o' the vale,
In ceaseless waving motion ;
'Tis like a ship without a sail,
On life's unstable ocean !

I downa bide to see the moon
Blink o'er the hill sae dearly,
Late on a bonny face she shone,
A face that I loe dearly.
An' when down by the water clear
At e'en I'm lonely roaming,
I sigh, an' think if ane war here,
How sweet wad fa' the gloaming.

Ah, Maggy, thou art gane away,
An' I nae mair shall see thee :
Now a' the lee-lang simmer day,
An' a' the night I weary;
For thou wert aye sae sweet, sae gay,
Sae teazing an' sae canty,
I dinna blush to swear an' say,
In faith I canna want thee !

O, in the slippery paths o' love
Let prudence aye direct thee,
Let virtue every step approve,
And virtue will respect thee.
To ilka pleasure, ilka pang,
Alack ! I am nae stranger,
An' he wha aince has wander'd wrang,
Is best aware of danger.

May still thy heart be kind an' true,
A' ither maids excelling,
An' heaven shall shed its purest dew
Around thy rural dwelling.
May flow'rets spring, an' wild birds sing
Around thee late an' early,
An' oft to thy remembrance bring
The lad that loes thee dearly !