bardachd

O wad this braw hie-heapit toun
Sail aff like an enchanted ship,
Drift owre the wad's seas up and doun
And kiss wi' Venice lip to lip,
Or anchor into Naples Bay
A misty island far astray,
Or set her rock to Athen's wa',
Pillar to pillar, stane to stane
The cruikit spell o' her backbane,
Yon shadow-mile o' spire and vane
Wad ding them a'! Wad ding them a'!
Cadiz wad tine the admiralty
O' yonder emerod fair sea,
Gibraltar frown for frown exchange
Wi Nigel's Crags at elbuck-range,
The rose-red banks o' Lisbon make
Mair room in Tagus for her sake.

A hoose is but a puppet-box
To keep life's images frae knocks,
But mannikins scrieve oot their sauls
Upon its craw-steps and its walls:
Whaur hae they writ them mair sublime
Than on yon gable-ends o' time?





Reekie Edinburgh
hie-heapit high-built
owre over
cruikit crooked
ding beat, defeat
tine lose
elbuck elbow
scrieve write