James Thomson Poems

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A Poem Sacred to the Memory of Sir Isaac Newton

 Shall the great soul of Newton quit this earth, 
To mingle with his stars; and every muse,
Astonish'd into silence, shun the weight
Of honours due to his illustrious name?
But what can man?--Even now the sons of light,
In strains high-warbled to seraphic lyre,
Hail his arrival on the coast of bliss.
Yet am not I deterr'd, though high the theme,
And sung to harps...Read more of this...

Fareweel ye bughts

 1. Fareweel, ye bughts, an' all your ewes, 
An' fields whare bIoomin' heather grows; 
Nae mair the sportin' lambs I'll see 
Since my true love's forsaken me. 

CHORUS. 
Nae mair I'll hear wi' pleasure sing 
The cheerfu' lav'rock in the Spring, 
But sad in grief now I maun mourn, 
Far, far frae her, o'er Logan-burn. 

2. Alas! nae mair...Read more of this...

Farewell to Ravelrig

 Sweet Ravelrig, I ne'er could part 
From thee, but wi' a dowie heart. 
When I think on the happy days 
I spent in youth about your braes, 
When innocence my steps did guide, 
Where murmuring streams did sweetly glide 
Beside the braes well stored wi' trees, 
And sweetest flow'rs that fend the bees: 

And there the tuneful tribe doth...Read more of this...

Gifts

 GIVE a man a horse he can ride, 
 Give a man a boat he can sail; 
And his rank and wealth, his strength and health, 
 On sea nor shore shall fail. 

Give a man a pipe he can smoke, 
 Give a man a book he can read: 
And his home is bright with a calm delight,...Read more of this...

Hymn on Solitude

 Hail, mildly pleasing solitude,
Companion of the wise and good;
But, from whose holy, piercing eye,
The herd of fools, and villains fly.
Oh! how I love with thee to walk,
And listen to thy whisper'd talk,
Which innocence, and truth imparts,
And melts the most obdurate hearts. 

A thousand shapes you wear with ease,
And still in every shape you please.
Now wrapt in some mysterious dream,
A...Read more of this...

In the Train

 AS we rush, as we rush in the Train, 
 The trees and the houses go wheeling back, 
But the starry heavens above the plain 
 Come flying on our track. 

All the beautiful stars of the sky, 
 The silver doves of the forest of Night, 
Over the dull earth swarm and fly, 
 Companions of our flight....Read more of this...

Rule Britannia

 When Britain first, at Heaven's command,
Arose from out the azure main;
This was the charter of the land,
And guardian angels sung this strain:
"Rule, Britannia, rule the waves;
Britons never will be slaves." 

The nations, not so blest as thee,
Must, in their turns, to tyrants fall:
While thou shalt flourish great and free,
The dread and envy of them all.
"Rule, Britannia, rule the waves;
Britons...Read more of this...

Sunday up the River

 MY love o'er the water bends dreaming; 
 It glideth and glideth away: 
She sees there her own beauty, gleaming 
 Through shadow and ripple and spray. 

O tell her, thou murmuring river, 
 As past her your light wavelets roll, 
How steadfast that image for ever 
 Shines pure in pure depths of my soul....Read more of this...

The Seasons: Winter

 See! Winter comes, to rule the varied Year, 
Sullen, and sad; with all his rising Train,
Vapours, and Clouds, and Storms: Be these my Theme,
These, that exalt the Soul to solemn Thought,
And heavenly musing. Welcome kindred Glooms! 
Wish'd, wint'ry, Horrors, hail! -- With frequent Foot,
Pleas'd, have I, in my cheerful Morn of Life,
When, nurs'd by careless Solitude, I liv'd,
And sung...Read more of this...

The Vine

 THE wine of Love is music, 
 And the feast of Love is song: 
And when Love sits down to the banquet, 
 Love sits long: 

Sits long and arises drunken, 
 But not with the feast and the wine; 
He reeleth with his own heart, 
 That great, rich Vine....Read more of this...