Digital Tradition Mirror

First in the Garden is a Raw

First in the Garden is a Raw

     First in the garden is a raw
     Of elder bushes fit to blaw,
     A bed o' balm, and a bed o' mint,
     A broken pot, and flowers in't.

     A currant bush and a codlin tree,
     A little rue and rosemarie;
     A row or twa o' beans and peas,
     A guinea-hen and a hive o' bees;

     A mufty tufty bantam cock,
     A garden gate without a lock;
     A dial cut upon a stone,
     A wooden bench to sit upon.

     The house is neat, and pretty squat,
     It's safer in the storm for that.
     A looking window through the latch,
     A broken door and a wooden catch;

     And for the knocker there is a foot
     Of poor dead Pompey tied to't,
     So that they may remember him,
     Whenever they go out and in.
     ________________________________________________________

     Chambers PRS (1847), 289; (1870), 158; Scottified in
     Montgomerie SNR (1946), 56 (no. 52).

MS
oct96

Thanks to Mudcat for the Digital Tradition!