But to see her was to love her

My other-half is in London for the weekend - so its Burns Night at home for me; along with Junior ...

... we'll be celebrating with Veggie Haggis (as pictured!), of course, and possibly just a small dram of whisky ;-)

And, in the spirit of the day - here's Burns' famous love poem, which he wrote for Agnes Maclehose in 1791. His relationship with Maclehose (uncharacteristically!) was purely platonic.

To this day, you can see a memorial above Maclehose's tomb at the Canongate Kirk (on the Royal Mile) in Edinburgh; and the National Library of Scotland, in Edinburgh, still has the original 1791 letter of the poem, which Burns sent to Maclehose when she returned to her then-husband in Jamaica.

Better known as a song; but the lyrics are as powerful today as they were when written over 200-years ago:


Ae fond kiss

Ae fond kiss, and then we sever
Ae fareweel, and then forever
Deep in heart-wrung tears I'll pledge thee
Warring sighs and groans I'll wage thee.
 
Who shall say that Fortune grieves him
While the star of hope she leaves him?
Me, nae cheerful twinkle lights me
Dark despair around benights me.
 
I'll ne'er blame my partial fancy
Naething could resist my Nancy
But to see her was to love her
Love but her, and love for ever.
 
Had we never loved sae kindly
Had we never loved sae blindly
Never met, or never parted
We had ne'er been broken-hearted.
 
Fare-thee-weel, thou first and fairest
Fare-thee-weel, thou best and dearest
Thine be ilka joy and treasure
Peace, enjoyment, love and pleasure.
 
Ae fond kiss, and then we sever
Ae fareweel, alas, forever
Deep in heart-wrung tears I'll pledge thee
Warring sighs and groans I'll wage thee.

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Robert Burns (1759 – 1796)

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