Contents -BIBLIOGRAPHIC RECORD

Ralph Waldo Emerson, comp. (1803–1882). Parnassus: An Anthology of Poetry. 1880.

Writing Verses

Robert Burns (1759–1796)

JUST now I’ve ta’en a fit of rhyme,

My barmy noddle’s working prime,

My fancy yerkit up sublime

Wi’ hasty summons:

Hae ye a leisure moment’s time

To hear what’s comin’?

Some rhyme a neebor’s name to lash;

Some rhyme (vain thought!) for needfu’ cash;

Some rhyme to court the countra clash,

An’ raise a din;

For me, an aim I never fash!

I rhyme for fun.

The star that rules my luckless lot,

Has fated me the russet coat,

An’ damned my fortune to the groat;

But in requit,

Has blessed me wi’ a random shot

O’ countra wit.