—A Red, Red Rose
by Robert Burns
Oh my luve is like a red, red rose,
That's newly sprung in June:
Oh my luve is like the melodie,
That's sweetly play'd in tune.
As fair art thou, my bonie lass,
So deep in luve am I;
And I will luve thee still, my dear,
Till a' the seas gang dry.
Till a' the seas gang dry, my dear,
And the rocks melt wi' the sun;
And I will luve thee still, my dear,
While the sands o' life shall run.
And fare thee weel, my only luve!
And fare thee weel a while!
And I will come again, my luve,
Tho' it were ten thousand mile!
Robert Burns was one of the great early Romantics, perhaps a forerunner of both Shelley and Clare. Despite the fact that he wrote in a Scots-English dialect, he still reads well today. He is, of course, most famous for his nostalgic drinking song "Auld Lang Syne." When Bob Dylan was asked to name the work of art that had the greatest impact on his own artistic life, he named the poem above.