TO A MOUSE ~ ROBBIE BURNS !

YOU HAD TO BE VERY VERY FAMOUS ~ TO BE PAINTED BY ANDY WARHOL !

Wee sleekit cowran tim'rous beastie

O what a panics in the breastie

Thou need na start awa sae hasty

Wi bickering brattle*

I wad be laith to rin an chase thee

Wi murdering pattle*

Im truly sorry mans dominion

Has broken Natures social union

An justifies that ill opinion

Which makes thee startle

At me ~ thy poor earth-bound companion

An fellow mortal.

I doubt na whyles* but thou may thieve

What then ? Poor beastie thou maun live

A   daimen icker* in a  thrave*

'S a sma request

I'll get a blessing wi the lave*

An never miss't

Thy wee-bit housie too in ruin

Its sill wa's the wins are strewin

An naething now to big* a new ane

O foggage* green

An bleak Decembers wins ensuin 

Baith snell an keen*

Thou saw the fields laid bare an wast

An weary Winter comin fast

An cozie here beneath the blast 

Thou thought to dwell

Till crash ! the cruel coulter past

Out throu thy cell.

That wee bit heap o leaves an stibble

Has cost thee monie a weary nibble

Now thou's turn'd out for a' thy trouble

But house or hald

To thole* the Winter's sleety dribble

An cranreuch* cauld 

But mousie thou art no thy lane

In proving foresight may be vain

The best-laid schemes of mice an men

Gang aft agley*

An lea'e us nought but grief an pain

For promised joy.

Still thou are blest compared wi me

The present only toucheth thee

But Och ! I backwards cast my e'e

On propects drear

An forwards tho I canna see

I guess an fear !

Thanks for reading ~ comments please ~ Love BRIAN 🧡🧡🧡

GLOSSARY:  Pattle = SPADE  Whyles = SOMETIME

Diamen icker = EAR OF CORN  Thrave = SHEAF  Big = BUILD

Foggage = GRASS  Snell = BITTER  Thole = PUT UP WITH

Cranreuch = HOAR FROST  Gang aft agley = OFTEN GO AWRY ! 

SYNOPSIS:  This very famous Poem is about MICE and MEN !

It was written in 1785 based on a real incident. This was the

time of the European Enlightenment so it is both Moral &

Satirical ! Burns was a PERFORMANCE POET so he writes in 

OLD HABBIE with a strict meter & rhyming pattern 

a a a b a b  which he takes pains to preserve ! V 1.  Is about

the MOUSE.  In V 2. He moves from the LOCAL to the

GENERAL. In V 3.  He is the farmer again !  In V 4.

Empathy for the Mouse he sees the nest as a HOUSE ! 

In V 5. He acknowledges the MOUSE lacks foresight the

same was true of the CROFTERS who were often turned off

their land for redevelopment. The same was true of the

Native Americans. In Verses 6 & 7 he reflects on the

possibility of his own Farm being dispossessed !  BRIAN !