Poems and Ballads (Third Series): Taken from The Collected Poetical Works of Algernon Charles; Swinburne—Vol. IIISwinburne, Algernon Charles
General
Poems and Ballads (Third Series): Taken from The Collected Poetical Works of Algernon Charles; Swinburne—Vol. III
Swinburne, Algernon Charles
Poetry
And what will ye give your bridegroom's friend?
One with another.
A weary foot to the weary end,
Mother, my mother.
And what will ye give your blithe bridesmaid?
One with another.
Grief to sew and sorrow to braid,
Mother, my mother.
And what will ye drink the day ye're wed?
One with another.
But ae drink of the wan well-head,
Mother, my mother.
And whatten a water is that to draw?
One with another.
We maun draw thereof a', we maun drink thereof a',
Mother, my mother.
And what shall ye pu' where the well rins deep?
One with another.
Green herb of death, fine flower of sleep,
Mother, my mother.
Are there ony fishes that swim therein?
One with another.
The white fish grace, and the red fish sin,
Mother, my mother.
Are there ony birds that sing thereby?
One with another.
O when they come thither they sing till they die,
Mother, my mother.
Is there ony draw-bucket to that well-head?
One with another.
There's a wee well-bucket hangs low by a thread,
Mother, my mother.
And whatten a thread is that to spin?
One with another.
It's green for grace, and it's black for sin,
Mother, my mother.
And what will ye strew on your bride-chamber floor?
One with another.
But one strewing and no more,
Mother, my mother.
And whatten a strewing shall that one be?
One with another.
The dust of earth and sand of the sea,
Mother, my mother.
And what will ye take to build your bed?
One with another.
Sighing and shame and the bones of the dead,
Mother, my mother.
And what will ye wear for your wedding gown?
One with another.
Grass for the green and dust for the brown,
Mother, my mother.
And what will ye wear for your wedding lace?
One with another.
A heavy heart and a hidden face,
Mother, my mother.
And what will ye wear for a wreath to your head?
One with another.
Ash for the white and blood for the red,
Mother, my mother.
And what will ye wear for your wedding ring?
One with another.
A weary thought for a weary thing,
Mother, my mother.
And what shall the chimes and the bell-ropes play?
One with another.
A weary tune on a weary day,
Mother, my mother.
And what shall be sung for your wedding song?
One with another.
A weary word of a weary wrong,
Mother, my mother.
The world's way with me runs back,
One with another,
Wedded in white and buried in black,
Mother, my mother.
The world's day and the world's night,
One with another,
Wedded in black and buried in white,
Mother, my mother.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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