Famous Wae Poems by Famous Poets
These are examples of famous Wae poems written by some of the greatest and most-well-known modern and classical poets. PoetrySoup is a great educational poetry resource of famous wae poems. These examples illustrate what a famous wae poem looks like and its form, scheme, or style (where appropriate).
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by
Burns, Robert
...WAE worth thy power, thou cursed leaf!
Fell source o’ a’ my woe and grief!
For lack o’ thee I’ve lost my lass!
For lack o’ thee I scrimp my glass!
I see the children of affliction
Unaided, through thy curst restriction:
I’ve seen the oppressor’s cruel smile
Amid his hapless victim’s spoil;
And for thy potence vainly wished,
To crush the villain in the dust:
...Read more of this...
by
Burns, Robert
...ho hate the name,
Be mindfu’ o’ your mither;
She, honest woman, may think shame
That ye’re connected with her:
Ye’re wae men, ye’re nae men
That slight the lovely dears;
To shame ye, disclaim ye,
Ilk honest birkie swears.
For you, no bred to barn and byre,
Wha sweetly tune the Scottish lyre,
Thanks to you for your line:
The marled plaid ye kindly spare,
By me should gratefully be ware;
’Twad please me to the nine.
I’d be mair vauntie o’ my hap,
Douce hingin...Read more of this...
by
Burns, Robert
...eks o’ bonie Mary.
Theniel Menzies’ bonie Mary, &c.
We lap a’ danc’d the lee-lang day,
Till piper lads were wae and weary;
But Charlie gat the spring to pay
For kissin Theniel’s bonie Mary.
Theniel Menzies’ bonie Mary, &c....Read more of this...
by
Burns, Robert
...MY 1 heart is wae, and unco wae,
To think upon the raging sea,
That roars between her gardens green
An’ the bonie Lass of Albany.
This lovely maid’s of royal blood
That ruled Albion’s kingdoms three,
But oh, alas! for her bonie face,
They’ve wrang’d the Lass of Albany.
In the rolling tide of spreading Clyde
There sits an isle of high degree,
And a town of...Read more of this...
by
Burns, Robert
...but eerie!
And now what lands between us lie,
How can I be but eerie!
How slow ye move, ye heavy hours,
As ye were wae and weary!
It was na sae ye glinted by,
When I was wi’ my dearie!
It was na sae ye glinted by,
When I was wi’ my dearie!...Read more of this...
by
Burns, Robert
...s were brought in ships,
Frae ’yont the Tweed.
A bonier fleesh ne’er cross’d the clips
Than Mailie’s dead.
Wae worth the man wha first did shape
That vile, wanchancie thing—a raip!
It maks guid fellows girn an’ gape,
Wi’ chokin dread;
An’ Robin’s bonnet wave wi’ crape
For Mailie dead.
O, a’ ye bards on bonie Doon!
An’ wha on Ayr your chanters tune!
Come, join the melancholious croon
O’ Robin’s reed!
His heart will never get aboon—
His Mailie’s dead!...Read more of this...
by
Burns, Robert
...atter mair moving,
A fine pacing-horse wi’ a clear chained bridle,
A whip by her side, and a bonie side-saddle.
O wae on the siller, it is sae prevailin’,
And wae on the love that is fixed on a mailen!
A tocher’s nae word in a true lover’s parle,
But gie me my love, and a fig for the warl’!...Read more of this...
by
Burns, Robert
...Nae mate to help, nae mate to cheer,
Pass widow’d nights and joyless days,
While Willie’s far frae Logan braes.
O wae be to you, Men o’ State,
That brethren rouse to deadly hate!
As ye make mony a fond heart mourn,
Sae may it on your heads return!
How can your flinty hearts enjoy
The widow’s tear, the orphan’s cry?
But soon may peace bring happy days,
And Willie hame to Logan braes!...Read more of this...
by
Burns, Robert
...capon craws an’ ***** “ha, ha’s,”
They made our lugs grow eerie, O;
The hungry bike did scrape and fyke,
Till we were wae and weary, O:
But a royal ghaist, wha ance was cas’d,
A prisoner, aughteen year awa’,
He fir’d a Fiddler in the North,
That dang them tapsalteerie, O....Read more of this...
by
Burns, Robert
...see;
For, e’en to morn she cries, alas!
And aye the saut tear blin’s her e’e.
“Drumossie moor, Drumossie day—
A waefu’ day it was to me!
For there I lost my father dear,
My father dear, and brethren three.
“Their winding-sheet the bluidy clay,
Their graves are growin’ green to see;
And by them lies the dearest lad
That ever blest a woman’s e’e!
“Now wae to thee, thou cruel lord,
A bluidy man I trow thou be;
For mony a heart thou has made sair,
That ne’er ...Read more of this...
by
Burns, Robert
...ie, will
First cry a parley?
Never the lads wi’ the
Bannocks o’ barley,
Bannocks o’ bear meal, &c.
Wha, in his wae days,
Were loyal to Charlie?
Wha but the lads wi’ the
Bannocks o’ barley!
Bannocks o’ bear meal, &c....Read more of this...
by
Burns, Robert
...WAE is my heart, and the tear’s in my e’e;
Lang, lang has Joy been a stranger to me:
Forsaken and friendless, my burden I bear,
And the sweet voice o’ Pity ne’er sounds in my ear.
Love thou hast pleasures, and deep hae I luv’d;
Love, thou hast sorrows, and sair hae I pruv’d;
But this bruisèd heart that now bleeds in my breast,
I can feel, by its throbb...Read more of this...
by
Burns, Robert
...pe frae heav’n to see them yet
In fiery flame.
Dalrymple 6 has been lang our fae,
M’Gill 7 has wrought us meikle wae,
An’ that curs’d rascal ca’d M’Quhae, 8
And baith the Shaws, 9
That aft hae made us black an’ blae,
Wi’ vengefu’ paws.
Auld Wodrow 10 lang has hatch’d mischief;
We thought aye death wad bring relief;
But he has gotten, to our grief,
Ane to succeed him,
A chield wha’ 11 soundly buff our beef;
I meikle dread him.
And mony a ane that I could...Read more of this...
by
Burns, Robert
...n thy white hand, lass,
That thou wilt be my ain.
A SLAVE to Love’s unbounded sway,
He aft has wrought me meikle wae;
But now he is my deadly fae,
Unless thou be my ain.
O lay thy loof, &c.
There’s mony a lass has broke my rest,
That for a blink I hae lo’ed best;
But thou art Queen within my breast,
For ever to remain.
O lay thy loof, &c....Read more of this...
by
Burns, Robert
...ut fare-you-weel, auld Nickie-ben!
O wad ye tak a thought an’ men’!
Ye aiblins might-I dinna ken—
Stil hae a stake
I’m wae to think up’ yon den,
Ev’n for your sake!
Note 1. The verse originally ran:
“Lang syne, in Eden’s happy scene
When strappin Adam’s days were green,
And Eve was like my bonie Jean,
My dearest part,
A dancin, sweet, young handsome quean,
O’ guileless heart.”
[back]
Note 2. Vide Milton, Book vi.—R. B. [back]...Read more of this...
by
Burns, Robert
...y poor folk,
As I wad by a stinkin brock.
I’ve notic’d, on our laird’s court-day,—
An’ mony a time my heart’s been wae,—
Poor tenant bodies, scant o’cash,
How they maun thole a factor’s snash;
He’ll stamp an’ threaten, curse an’ swear
He’ll apprehend them, poind their gear;
While they maun stan’, wi’ aspect humble,
An’ hear it a’, an’ fear an’ tremble!
I see how folk live that hae riches;
But surely poor-folk maun be wretches!
LUATH They’re no sae wretched’s ane wad t...Read more of this...
by
Burns, Robert
...y back be at the wa’,
And tho’ he be the fautor;
Altho’ my back be at the wa’,
Yet, here’s his health in water.
O wae gae by his wanton sides,
Sae brawlie’s he could flatter;
Till for his sake I’m slighted sair,
And dree the kintra clatter:
But tho’ my back be at the wa’,
And tho’ he be the fautor;
But tho’ my back be at the wa’,
Yet here’s his health in water!...Read more of this...
by
Service, Robert William
...ust their grief I'll grieve,
Believe, believe.
Not for myself I care
As forth I fare;
But for those left behind
Wae is my mind
Knowing how they will miss
My careless kiss.
Oh I'll be brave when I
Shall come to die;
With courage I will quaff
The Cup and laugh,
Aye, even mock at Death
With failing breath.
It is not those who go
Who suffer woe;
But stricken ones who bide
By cold bedside:
God comfort you who keep
Watch by my sleep!...Read more of this...
by
Service, Robert William
...and I with bliss will wait,
Although our hearts are bleeding.
Then we will take with wildwood track,
And he'll be wae and weary,
But when he gets his manhood back
And beats me I'll be cheery.
And maybe some fowl's neck I'll wring,
And maybe we'll get tipsy;
So by a thorn fire how we'll sing!
What heaven for a gypsy!...Read more of this...
by
Burns, Robert
...e can she see;
For e'en and morn she cries, "Alas!"
And ay the saut tear blins her ee:
Drumossie moor—Drumossie day—
A waefu' day it was to me!
For there I lost my father dear,
My father dear, and brethren three.
Their winding-sheet the bluidy clay,
Their graves are growing green to see:
And by them lies the dearest lad
That ever blest a woman's ee!
Now wae to thee, thou cruel lord,
A bluidy man I trow thou be;
For mony a heart thou hast made sair
That ne'er did wrang t...Read more of this...
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