To A Louse by Robert Burns

To a Louse
Robert Burns
(On seeing a louse on a lady's bonnet at church!)
Ha! whare ye gaun, ye crowlin ferlie!
Your impudence protects you sairly:
I canna say but ye strunt rarely
Owre gauze and lace;
Tho' faith, I fear ye dine but sparely
On sic a place.

Ye ugly, creepin, blastit wonner,
Detested, shunned by saunt an' sinner,
How daur ye set your fit upon her,
Sae fine a lady!
Gae somewhere else and seek your dinner,
On some poor body.

Swith, in some beggar's haffet squattle;
There ye may creep, and sprawl, and sprattle
Wi' ither kindred, jumpin cattle,
In shoals and nations;
Whare horn or bane ne'er daur unsettle
Your thick plantations.

Now haud ye there, ye're out o' sight,
Below the fatt'rels, snug an' tight;
Na faith ye yet! ye'll no be right
Till ye've got on it,
The vera tapmost, towering height
O' Miss's bonnet.

My sooth! right bauld ye set your nose out,
As plump an' grey as onie grozet:
O for some rank, mercurial rozet,
Or fell, red smeddum,
I'd gie ye sic a hearty dose o't,
Wad dress your droddum!

I wad na been surprised to spy
You on an auld wife's flainen toy;
Or aiblins some bit duddie boy,
On's wyliecoat;
But Miss's fine Lunardi!—fie!
How daur ye do't?

O Jenny, dinna toss your head,
An' set your beauties a' abread!
Ye little ken what cursed speed
The blastie's makin!
Thae winks and finger-ends, I dread,
Are notice takin!

O, wad some Power the giftie gie us
To see oursels as others see us!
It wad frae monie a blunder free us
An' foolish notion:
What airs in dress an' gait wad lea'e us,
And ev'n Devotion!

To a Louse
Robert Burns

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• To
• Louse
• by
• Robert
• Burns
• hartistry
• david
• hart
• w213243
• 32435432
• superdavidhart
• paparotzie

[w213243]

@Cshacoria good luck on the paper. Dave Hart

[Cshacoria]

@vegan4Christ08 me too. Im doin it for english 4 but imagine writing a research paper about it and not understanding. Lol and the bad thing is that its due this friday but i will have it done

[stooriefit]

@vegan4Christ08 That was not a Scots accent .

[vegan4Christ08]

This poem is really wierd! I had to read this for my English Lit class, and I was supposed to find a reading of it in Scottish dialect, so thanks for the vid.

[hartistry]

Who is that old guy????