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Inscription for the Headstone of Fergusson the Poet

by Robert Burns, 1787

No sculptured marble here, nor pompous lay,
  "No storied urn nor animated bust;"
This simple stone directs pale Scotia's way,
  To pour her sorrows o'er the Poet's dust.


Additional STANZAS


She mourns, sweet tuneful youth, thy hapless fate;
  Tho' all the powers of song thy fancy fired,
Yet Luxury and Wealth lay by in state,
  And, thankless, starv'd what they so much admired.

This tribute, with a tear, now gives
  A brother Bard-he can no more bestow:
But dear to fame thy Song immortal lives,
  A nobler monument than Art can shew.

Published in Poems and Songs of Robert Burns
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