"Epitaph for James Smith" is a satirical
Scots epitaph
An epitaph (; ) is a short text honoring a deceased person. Strictly speaking, it refers to text that is inscribed on a tombstone or plaque, but it may also be used in a figurative sense. Some epitaphs are specified by the person themselves be ...
written by
poet
A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or w ...
Robert Burns
Robert Burns (25 January 175921 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the best known of the poets who hav ...
in 1785, and was included in his first publication, the ''
Kilmarnock volume
''Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect'', commonly known as the Kilmarnock Edition, is a collection of poetry by Robert Burns, first printed and issued by John Wilson of Kilmarnock on 31 July 1786. It was the first published edition of Burns' ...
'':
:LAMENT him, Mauchline husbands a’,
:He aften did assist ye;
:For had ye staid hale weeks awa,
:Your wives they ne’er had miss’d ye.
:Ye Mauchline bairns, as on ye press,
:To school in bands thegither,
:O tread ye lightly on his grass,—
:Perhaps he was your father!
See also
*
Epistle to James Smith
* The Scottish town of
Mauchline
Mauchline (; gd, Maghlinn) is a town and civil parish in East Ayrshire, Scotland. In the 2001 census Mauchline had a recorded population of 4,105. It is home to the National Burns Memorial.
Location
The town lies by the Glasgow and South West ...
References
1785 poems
Poetry by Robert Burns
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