Love

The Mitherless Lammie

by Carolina Nairne 1766–1845

From The Modern Scottish Minstrel, vol. 1 (1855–57)

Love

The mitherless lammie ne'er miss'd its ain mammie,
We tentit it kindly by night and by day,
The bairnies made game o't, it had a blithe hame o't,
Its food was the gowan--its music was "mai."

Without tie or fetter, it couldna been better,
But it would gae witless the world to see;
The foe that it fear'd not, it saw not, it heard not,
Was watching its wand'ring frae Bonnington Lea.

Oh, what then befell it, 't were waefu' to tell it,
Tod Lowrie kens best, wi' his lang head sae sly;
He met the pet lammie, that wanted its mammie,
And left its kind hame the wide world to try.

We miss'd it at day-dawn, we miss'd it at night-fa'in',
Its wee shed is tenantless under the tree,
Ae dusk i' the gloamin' it wad gae a roamin';
'T will frolic nae mair upon Bonnington Lea.

MLA

Nairne, Carolina. “The Mitherless Lammie.” Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/nairn/30/.

Chicago

Nairne, Carolina. “The Mitherless Lammie.” Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/nairn/30/.

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