VAGRANT VERSE

Southland Times, Issue 19069, 2 March 1921, Page 4

VAGRANT VERSE

GIN I WERE YOU AN* YOU WERE MK (Written for the Southland Times.) Gin I were you an’ you were me What kind o’ buddies wud we be? Wud I sometimes gang on the spnSi, As you e’en dae, An’ stancher fu’ o’ barley-bree Adoon the brae? Wud I some mornin’ find mysel’ Rubbin’ my een in cauldrife cell Wi’ no a grain o’ sense tae tell Hoo I cam there, My heid just bummin’ like a bed An’ unco sair? Wud I be hauled afore the beak Wha frae the bench eouthie an’ Glowers at ane as he fain wud seek His soul to ken, Syne says the law demands a week Or twa pund ten? Gin I were you an’ you were me What kind o’ buddies wud we be! Wud you be filled wi’ ecstasy When day-licht springs Up frae the drowsy cjnimlic see On silvery wings ? Wud you, rejoicin' in the morn. See jewels gleamin’ in the thorn That hold Earth’s diamonds in scorn Sae bricht are they, Tho’ only o’ the saft dew born At break o’ day. Wud you gang wanderin’ up the hill An’ o’ Earth’s music drink your fill The hum o’ bees, the lark’s gay triff, The Blackie’s sang, The Mavis pipin’ wi’ a will The trees amang. Gin I were you an’ you were me What kind o’ buddies wud we be ? We dinna ken, sae. we mun gie Each ane a han’ JL’ ilka try in charity Tae understand Ilk buddie has his ain bit ken No dreamt o’ by his fellow men That only conies oot ~»oo an’ tha. Like lightnin’ dart Syne sinks frae sicht in that dark den W r e ca’ the heart Gin you were me and I were you, Maybe we’d each tak different view O’ ane anither, ane mair true, An kindlier tae, An’ us nt ane anither grue As aft we dae. —Robert Francis Bluff, March 1-