Robert Burns, selected poems

Red Rose

Click here to see a selection of downloadable curriculum resources from CurrClick for studying poetry.

 

I have compiled musical versions of several Burns poems at this link.

The text for the first three poems is printed at the bottom of this post, for your convenience.

Auld Lang Syne

Red, Red Rose

Winter: A Dirge

Man’s a Man for A’ That

e-text for A Man’s a Man

Comin’ Thro’ the Rye, read in Scots

Ear of rye, photo by LSDSL, released under GNU Free Documentation license

You can find several more selections from Robert Burns in the post Poems Every Child Should Know. The Burns titles in that collection are mixed in amongst other poems, so the following links may include some additional poems along with the Burns selections.

Robert Burns

Robert Bruce’s address to his army

The Banks O’ Doon

John Anderson

John Barleycorn

Mouse eating leaf, photo by Jens Buurgaard Nielsen, GNU Free Documentation license

To a Mouse; To a Mountain Daisy

Mountain Daisy, photo by Walter Siegmund, released under GNU Free Documentation license

Auld Lang Syne by Robert Burns

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And auld lang syne?

For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne,
We’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.

And surely ye’ll be your pint-stowp,
And surely I’ll be mine!
And we’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.

For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne,
We’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.

We twa hae run about the braes,
And pu’d the gowans fine;
But we’ve wandered mony a weary fit
Sin’ auld lang syne.

For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne,
We’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.

We twa hae paidled i’ the burn,
Frae morning sun till dine;
But seas between us braid hae roared
Sin’ auld lang syne.

For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne,
We’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.

And there’s a hand, my trusty fiere,
And gie’s a hand o’ thine!
And we’ll tak a right guid-willie waught

For auld lang syne.
For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne,
We’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.

A Red, Red Rose by Robert Burns

O my luve’s like a red, red rose.
That’s newly sprung in June;
O my luve’s like a melodie
That’s sweetly play’d in tune.

As fair art thou, my bonnie lass,
So deep in luve am I;
And I will love 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:
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!

Winter: A Dirge by Robert Burns

The wintry west extends his blast,
And hail and rain does blaw;
Or the stormy north sends driving forth
The blinding sleet and snaw:
While, tumbling brown, the burn comes down,
And roars frae bank to brae;
And bird and beast in covert rest,
And pass the heartless day.

The sweeping blast, the sky o’ercast,
The joyless winter day
Let others fear, to me more dear
Than all the pride of May:
The tempest’s howl, it soothes my soul,
My griefs it seems to join;
The leafless trees my fancy please,
Their fate resembles mine!

Thou Power Supreme, whose mighty scheme
These woes of mine fulfil,
Here firm I rest; they must be best,
Because they are Thy will!
Then all I want O do Thou grant
This one request of mine!
Since to enjoy Thou dost deny,
Assist me to resign.

Emily Dickinson, selected poetry

Feather_1, published by author Louise Docker from Sydney Australia, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license

Click here to see a selection of downloadable curriculum resources from CurrClick for studying poetry.

e-text for Hope….

Oglala National Grassland, Nebraska USA, near Toadstool Geologic Park, image released to public domain by author Brian Kell

The Grass… e-text

The Cemetery Entrance by Caspar David Friedrich, public domain image

e-text for Because I could not stop for Death

I Died for Beauty

Beauty e-text

Rain by Ivan Yendogurov, public domain image

Summer Shower

e-text for Summer Shower

I’m Nobody

e-text for I’m Nobody

Morning

e-text for Morning

Interesting Story by Laura Muntz Lyall, public domain image

There is no Frigate like a Book

e-text for Frigate

In a Library

Library e-text

A Word is Dead

e-text for A Word is Dead

If I can stop one heart from breaking

e-text for If I can stop…

Indian Summer, Vermont by Willard Leroy Metcalf, public domain image

Indian Summer

Indian Summer e-text

Our Share of Night to Bear

Our Share e-text

There’s a Certain Slant of Light

Slant of Light e-text

Selected Poems from William Wordsworth

young cat, published under GNU Free Documentation license by copyright holder Maxo

Click here to see a selection of downloadable curriculum resources from CurrClick for studying poetry.

Click on the poem titles to listen to them.  We have included the text below some of the poems (and links for the others). The best way to read along is to open two browser windows (one for listening, one for reading).

A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal

e-text for Slumber

The Kitten and Falling Leaves

Click here to read the e-text of The Kitten and Falling Leaves.

Lines Written in Early Spring

Click here to read the e-text of Lines Written in Early Spring.

Ode Intimations of Immortality from Recollections in Early Childhood

Click here to read Ode: Intimations…


Fidelity

read Fidelity

I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud

I WANDERED lonely as a cloud
          That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
          When all at once I saw a crowd,
          A host, of golden daffodils;
          Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
          Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

          Continuous as the stars that shine
          And twinkle on the milky way,
          They stretched in never-ending line
          Along the margin of a bay:                                  10
          Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
          Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

          The waves beside them danced; but they
          Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
          A poet could not but be gay,
          In such a jocund company:
          I gazed--and gazed--but little thought
          What wealth the show to me had brought:

          For oft, when on my couch I lie
          In vacant or in pensive mood,                               20
          They flash upon that inward eye
          Which is the bliss of solitude;
          And then my heart with pleasure fills,
          And dances with the daffodils.

WW Poems 1

Composed Upon Westminster Bridge

Westminster Bridge e-text

Regrets

WOULD that our scrupulous Sires had dared to leave
Less scanty measure of those graceful rites
And usages, whose due return invites
A stir of mind too natural to deceive;
Giving to Memory help when she would weave
A crown for Hope!–I dread the boasted lights
That all too often are but fiery blights,
Killing the bud o’er which in vain we grieve.
Go, seek, when Christmas snows discomfort bring,
The counter Spirit found in some gay church
Green with fresh holly, every pew a perch
In which the linnet or the thrush might sing,
Merry and loud and safe from prying search,
Strains offered only to the genial Spring.
Wordsworth

She was a Phantom of Delight

SHE was a Phantom of delight
          When first she gleamed upon my sight;
          A lovely Apparition, sent
          To be a moment's ornament;
          Her eyes as stars of Twilight fair;
          Like Twilight's, too, her dusky hair;
          But all things else about her drawn
          From May-time and the cheerful Dawn;
          A dancing Shape, an Image gay,
          To haunt, to startle, and way-lay.                          10

          I saw her upon nearer view,
          A Spirit, yet a Woman too!
          Her household motions light and free,
          And steps of virgin-liberty;
          A countenance in which did meet
          Sweet records, promises as sweet;
          A Creature not too bright or good
          For human nature's daily food;
          For transient sorrows, simple wiles,
          Praise, blame, love, kisses, tears, and smiles.             20

          And now I see with eye serene
          The very pulse of the machine;
          A Being breathing thoughtful breath,
          A Traveller between life and death;
          The reason firm, the temperate will,
          Endurance, foresight, strength, and skill;
          A perfect Woman, nobly planned,
          To warn, to comfort, and command;
          And yet a Spirit still, and bright
          With something of angelic light.

She Dwelt among Untrodden Ways

SHE dwelt among the untrodden ways
            Beside the springs of Dove,
          A Maid whom there were none to praise
            And very few to love:

          A violet by a mossy stone
            Half hidden from the eye!
          --Fair as a star, when only one
            Is shining in the sky.

          She lived unknown, and few could know
            When Lucy ceased to be;                                   10
          But she is in her grave, and, oh,
            The difference to me!

Poems Every Child Should Know, edited by Mary Burt

White_lily

Click here to see a selection of downloadable curriculum resources from CurrClick for studying poetry.

Internet Archive Page

Download as a zipped file

To read this book for yourself, click here.

To play this book, click on the poem titles or click play in the box below.

tn_flowers-Lily_flowered_tulip

The Budding Moment

01 – Preface

02 – The Arrow and the Song; The Babie; Let Dogs Delight to Bark and Bite; Little Drops of Water; He Prayeth Best; Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star; Spring’s at the Morn; The Days of the Month

03 – True Royalty; Playing Robinson Crusoe; My Shadow; Little White Lily

04 – How the Leaves Came Down; Wee Willie Winkie; The Owl and the Pussy-Cat

Winken,_Blinken_and_Nod_Statue_in_Wellsboro

05 – Wynken, Blynken, and Nod; The Duel

06 – The Boy Who Never Told a Lie; Whatever Brawls Disturb the Street; Bluebell of Scotland; Two Little Wings; Farewell

07 – Casabianca; The Captain’s Daughter

08 – The Village Blacksmith; Sweet and Low; The Violet; The Rainbow


santa claus
09 – A Visit from St. Nicholas; The Star-Spangled Banner

10 – Father William; The Nightingale and the Glow-worm

The Little Child

11 – Jack Frost; The Owl; Little Billie

12 – The Butterfly and the Bee; An Incident of the French Camp; Robert of Lincoln

13 – Old Grimes; Song of Life; Fairy Song

Flowers with butterfly

14 – A Boy’s Song; Buttercups and Daisies; The Rainbow; Old Ironsides

15 – Little Orphant Annie; O Captain My Captain

16 – Ingratitude; The Ivy Green; The Noble Nature; The Flying Squirrel

17 – Warren’s Address; The Song in Camp; The Bugle Song

18 – The Three Bells of Glasgow; Sheridan’s Ride

Pectoral_Sandpiper

19 – The Sandpiper; Lady Clare

20 – The Lord of Burleigh

Sioux-Encampment

21 – Hiawatha’s Childhood

22 – I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud; John Barelycorn; A Life on the Ocean Wave

clouds_lake1 photo by Brosen

23 – The Death of the Old Year; Abou Ben Adhem

24 – A Farm-Yard Song

25 – To a Mouse; To a Mountain Daisy

mountain daisy

26 – Barbara Frietchie

The Day’s at the Morn

27 – Lochinvar

28 – Lord Ullin’s Daughter; The Charge of the Light Brigade
Charge of the Light Brigade

29 – The Tournament; The Wind and the Moon

30 – Jesus the Carpenter; Letty’s Globe; A Dream; Heaven is not Reached at a Single Bound

31 – The Battle of Blenheim

32 – Fidelity; The Chambered Nautilus

33 – Crossing the Bar; The Overland-Mail; Pibroch of Donuil Dhu

34 – Marco Bozzaris

The Death of Napoleon by Steuben

35 – The Death of Napoleon; How Sleep the Brave; The Flag Goes By; Hohenlinden; My Old Kentucky Home

36 – Old Folks at Home; The Wreck of the Hesperus

37 – Robert Bruce’s Address to his Army; The Inchcape Rock

Bruce addresses his troops at the Battle of Bannockburn

Lad and Lassie

38 – The Finding of the Lyre; A Chrysalis

39 – For a’ That and a’ That; The New Arrival

40 – The Brook; The Ballad of the Clampherdown

41 – The Destruction of Sennacherib; I Remember, I Remember; Driving Home the Cows

42 – Krinken; Stevenson’s Birthday

43 – A Modest Wit; The Legend of Bishop Hatto

columbus ship

44 – Columbus; The Shepherd of King Admetus

45 – How They Brought the Good News from Ghent to Aix

46 – The Burial of Sir John Moore at Corunna; The Eve of Waterloo

Battle of Waterloo - Robinson

47 – Ivry

48 – The Glove and the Lions; The Well of St. Keyne

49 – The Nautilus and the Ammonite; The Solitude of Alexander Selkirk

50 – The Homes of England; Horatius at the Bridge (Part 1)

51 – Horatius at the Bridge (Part 2)

52 – The Planting of the Apple Tree

apples, pear and mug-Paul Gauguin 116

On and On

53 – June; A Psalm of Life; Barnacles

54 – A Happy Life; Home, Sweet Home; Juliet of Nations; Woodman, Spare That Tree

55 – Abide With Me; Lead, Kindly Light; The Last Rose of Summer; Annie Laurie

56 – The Ship of State; America; The Landing of the Pilgrims

Landing of the Pilgrims by Bacon

57 – The Lotos-Eaters; Moly

58 – Cupid Drowned; Cupid Stung; Cupid and my Campasbe; A Ballad for a Boy

59 – The Skeleton in Armour

60 – The Revenge

61 – Sir Galahad; A Name in the Sand

Galahad 1

“Grow old along with me!….”
62 – The Voice of Spring; The Forsaken Merman

63 – The Banks o’ Doon; The Light of Other Days; My Own Shall Come to Me

64 – Ode to a Skylark; The Sands of Dee

65 – A Wish; Lucy; Solitude; John Anderson; The God of Music

66 – A Musical Instrument; The Brides of Enderby

67 – The Lye; L’Envoi

68 – Contentment; The Harp That Once Through Tara’s Halls; The Old Oaken Bucket

-Raven_croak

69 – The Raven

70 – Arnold von Winkelried

71 – Life I Know Not What Thou Art; Mercy; Polonius’ Advice; Antony’s Speech; The Skylark

72 – The Choir Invisible; The World is Too Much With Us; Sonnet on His Blindness; She Was a Phantom of Delight

73 – Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard

74 – Rabbi Ben Ezra

75 – Prospice; Recessional; Ozymandias of Egypt


76 – Mortality; On First Looking Into Chapman’s Homer

77 – Herve Riel

78 – The Problem; To America

british flag

79 – The English Flag

80 – The Man with the Hoe

81 – Song of Myself (excerpts)