Monody On a lady famed for her Caprice.
1794
Type: Poem
How cold is that bosom which folly once fired,
How pale is that cheek where the rouge lately glisten’d;
How silent that tongue which the echoes oft tired,
How dull is that ear which to flatt’ry so listen’d!
If sorrow and anguish their exit await,
From friendship and dearest affection remov’d;
How doubly severer, Maria, thy fate,
Thou diedst unwept, as thou livedst unlov’d.
Loves, Graces, and Virtues, I call not on you;
So shy, grave, and distant, ye shed not a tear:
But come, all ye offspring of Folly so true,
And flowers let us cull for Maria’s cold bier.
We’ll search through the garden for each silly flower,
We’ll roam thro’ the forest for each idle weed;
But chiefly the nettle, so typical, shower,
For none e’er approach’d her but rued the rash deed.
We’ll sculpture the marble, we’ll measure the lay;
Here Vanity strums on her idiot lyre;
There keen Indignation shall dart on his prey,
Which spurning Contempt shall redeem from his ire.
————-
Home
Parallel translations, the parallel world of translating poetry
Poetry in Russian (youd have to select Russian in the language switch area, otherwise you wont be able to read poems in Russian)
- Robert Burns:Inscription To Miss Jessy Lewars: On a copy of the Scots Musical Museum, in four volumes, presented to her by Burns. - February 8, 2022
- Robert Burns:O Wert Thou In The Cauld Blast: - February 8, 2022
- Robert Burns:A Health To Ane I Loe Dear: - February 8, 2022