Classic Poem

Like mist upon the lea,
And like night upon the plain,
Auld age comes o'er the heart
Wi' dolor and wi' pain,
Blithe youth is like a smile,
Sae mirthfu' and sae brief;
Syne wrinkles on the cheek
Come like frost upon the leaf.

O! were I young again,
Were my heart as glad and free,
And were my foot as firm
As it was wont to be, —
I would in youth rejoice
Mair than I yet ha'e done:
'Tis a happy, happy time,
But it passes unco soon.

Frae a distant stranger land
I came to sit again
In the hame that shelter'd me
Ere I sail'd across the main:
But its wa's were lying low,
And the bonnie tree that grew
By that couthie hamestead's door,
Like mysel', was wither'd now.

I sought my youthfu' friend, —
His heart was deadly cauld:
He had lost the gamesome glee
O' the merry days of auld.
He took my offer'd hand,
But he scarcely rais'd his e'e;
And a chill came o'er my heart —
There was nae place there for me.

I sought a maiden's hame
Whom I had loved in youth;
But nae maiden now was there —
She had slighted love and truth:
I fand her wi' the bairn
Of anither on her knee;
And I turn'd and cam' awa'
Wi' a tear-drap in my e'e.

When my brother's ha' I sought —
Wha had sleepit on my breast
When we baith were bairnies young —
I found he was at rest:
And my sisters, dearly loved,
Were awa' amang the lave,
Aneath the chilly mools
In a cauld but peacefu' grave.

I sought the broomy howes,
Where I was wont to gang
When the flower's were buskit a' —
When the summer days were lang:
But as I sat me down
Beside the water-fa',
A shadow as of age
Grew dark upon them a'.

A spreading tree was there,
Which I in youth had set
Beside the gowany green,
Where the neebor bairns met.
There were bees on ilka bud,
And birds on ilka spray,
And its leafy head was green,
While mine was frosted gray.

The birnie blithely ran,
And the lintie lilted sweet —
The laverock was on hie;
But mourning I did greet:
For I fand I couldna lo'e
What I lo'ed a mirthfu' boy;
As the heart that dwells in pain
Grows without a wish for joy.

It wasna like the time
When, singing, I ha'e run
Where the bluebell and the breckan
Lay beeking in the sun;
Or, to catch the glancing trout,
Ha'e waded in the burn,
While my blue-e'ed neebor lassie
My father's kye would turn.

I thought the hills were changed —
The brown and bonnie hills;
And the woods, sae fu' o' sang,
And the wimplin' mountain rills:
But nae years could alter them,
Sae the thought was vanitie;
And my bosom whisper'd laigh,
" The change is a' in thee. "

I sought the nameless grave
Where my mother's banes did lie —
Where the lips that pray'd for me
Were dust and ashes dry:
I thought that kirkyard mould
Might on me pity take;
But the very grave was gane —
O! my heart is like to break.

And I am sitting now
Upon the kirkyard wa',
And gloamin's ghostly veil
Upon the earth doth fa'.
The cloud o' night is mirk;
But there 's darker gloom on me —
The gloom o' friendless hearts:
For tears I canna see.

My auld een winna greet,
When their day o' life is past;
For the wishes o' my heart
Are ayont the world cast:
My feet are in the grave,
And I'm sinking slowly down;
And the grass will shortly grow
My weary head aboon.

Oh, were that moment come!
Oh, were that moment gane!
Oh, were the spirit flown
Frae this mortal flesh and bane!
Were my coffin in the yird,
And my soul to God awa',
I worshipping, would say,
" May thou be bless'd for a'! "