Epitaph on Holy Willie
Robert Burns 1759 (Alloway) – 1796 (Dumfries)
Here Holy Willie's sair worn clay
Taks up its last abode;
His saul has ta'en some other way,
I fear, the left-hand road.
Stop! there he is, as sur's a gun,
Poor, silly body, see him;
Nae wonder he's as black's the grun,
Observe wha's standing wi' him.
Your brunstane devilship, I see,
Has got him there before ye;
But haud your nine-tail cat a wee,
Till ance you've heard my story.
Your pity I will not implore,
For pity ye have nane;
Justice, alas! has gi'en him o'er,
And mercy's day is gane.
But hear me, Sir, deil as ye are,
Look something to your credit;
A coof like him wad stain your name,
If it were kent ye did it.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 40 sec read
- 75 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABAB CDCD EEEE XCXC XXXX |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 635 |
Words | 124 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
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"Epitaph on Holy Willie" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 8 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/30491/epitaph-on-holy-willie>.
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