Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, ed. Poems of Places: An Anthology in 31 Volumes.
Scotland: Vols. VI–VIII. 1876–79.
The Banks of Tarf
By William Nicholson (17821849)W
Her siller wave sae saftly rows;
And mony a green-wood cluster grows,
An’ harebells bloomin’, bonnie, O.
Below a spreadin’ hazle-tree,
Fu’ snugly hid whar nane could see,
While blinkin’ love beamed frae her e’e,
I met my bonnie Annie, O.
Her lips like roses wet wi’ dew:
But O, her e’e, o’ azure blue,
Was past expressin’ bonnie, O.
Like threads o’ gowd her flowin’ hair,
That lightly wantoned in the air;
But vain were a’ my skill an’ mair
To tell the charms o’ Annie, O.
She whisperin’ in my ear did say,
“O how could I survive the day,
Should ye prove fause, my Tammie, O!”
“While spangled fish glide to the main,
While Scotlan’s braes shall wave wi’ grain,
Till this fond heart shall break wi’ pain,
I ’ll aye be true to Annie, O.”
An’ ripplin’ raised the spray alang;
We cheerfu’ sat, and cheerfu’ sang,
The banks o’ Tarf are bonnie, O.
Though sweet is spring, whan young and gay,
An’ blythe the blinks o’ summer’s day;
I fear nae winter, cauld and blae,
If blest wi’ love an’ Annie, O.