1st place winner in the Published Poets category of the 2017 UNESCO Dunedin City of Literature Robert Burns Poetry Competition

(A song to the tune of ‘The Caledonian Hunt’ by James Miller - the same tune used for ‘Ye Banks and Braes’)

O, luve is deep as the Lochs o’ the Hielands Yet shaul ‘tis yer heart as yon mou’ o the Doon Fou or sober, a meare to ride hame on

Ye wax and ye wane likes o’ Lammas moon To Elisa and Jenny, Nancy and Anna

Nell and Peggy, Jeanie and May

Ye argie tha lassies an luve gae wi poesy But Ah argie lassies an luve gae wi weans!

Ye blaw yer ain dochter is bonie an’ sweet Sa’ ye’ll dote like a Daddie shuid dae

Yet houghmagandie is yours fae the takin’ An suin your dochter becomes twa three Ye rew ye luve them, O flichtering burdies Scrieve your queel sae tendirly

But wha is liltin’ ilka balilliloo

An kittlin’ thaim gently frae their first skreigh?

Ye claver o luve and simmer morn Ye haiver o dewy kisses stole

An sa’ she’s braw as the wildflow’r meadows Yer bonie, blythe lassie, luve of a’

But efter threapin wi ye she’s sleepin’ An whan her tears leave seas o’ saut

When nae means nae, but naebody’s listenin’ Ye bled her heart when awa’ ye walk’d

English translation:

Reply From the Lasses #MeToo

Oh, love is as deep as the Lochs of the Highlands Yet your heart is shallow like the mouth of the Doon Drunken or sober, a mare to ride home on

You wax and you wane like the Harvest moon To Elisa and Jenny, Nancy and Anna

Nell and Peggy, Jeanie and May

You argue that women and love go with poetry But I argue women and love go with bairns!

You boast your own daughter is pretty and sweet You say that you’ll dote like a father should do Yet hanky panky is yours for the taking

and soon your one daughter becomes quite a few You smile you love them, O fluttering fledglings You write about them so tenderly

Yet who is singing each lullaby

and cuddling them gently from their first cry?

You chatter of love and summer morn You patter of dewy kisses stole

you say she’s as pretty as wildflower meadows your bonnie, blithe lassie, love of all

But after insisting with you she must sleep And when her tears leave seas of salt When no means no but nobody’s listening

You broke her heart when away you walked

Below is the information that contributed to the historical facts within the poem, taken from ‘What Happened to Robert Burns’ Women? by Steven Brocklehurst’ (abridged) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-30878982

There were at least three cases where Robert Burns's liaisons resulted in an illegitimate child. These women were all servants of one type or another, as were many women in Scotland at the end of the 18th century. How did they cope when they found themselves in-service, unmarried and pregnant? Burns's first child was with his family's own farm servant, Elizabeth Paton. Burns chose not to marry Elizabeth Paton, though he did take his child into his family and she was raised by his mother.

By the time his first illegitimate child was born in May 1785, Burns had begun his complicated on-off relationship with Jean Armour. Before the end of the year she was pregnant with his child, though they would not marry until 1788, after the birth of her second child. Jean and Robert had nine children together, the last of whom was born on the day of his funeral in July 1796.

Burns had another child with lady's maid Jenny Clow, who worked for Mrs Agnes Maclehose, a middle class lady in Edinburgh. Burns said her distress made him ‘weep blood’.

In 1790, his job in the excise took him backwards and forwards to Dumfries, where he often stayed at the Globe Inn. There he met a barmaid, Ann Park, and there was soon to be yet another illegitimate baby on the way.

Prof Robert Crawford, of St Andrews University says: "If I were trying to sum up Burns's attitude to sex and women I would find it difficult but ultimately it comes down to a volatile relationship between the riotous and the tender."Out of the volatility in that relationship, there are clearly casualties and Burns knew that, though he may have avoided sometimes facing up to it fully."