ORIGINAL POETRY.

Southland Times, Issue 696, 15 July 1867, Page 3

ORIGINAL POETRY.

m THE ORPHANS. By John G-. Smith. We are twa orphan bairns, ladye, Hae house or hame liae we ; Ye little ken the bitter waes Our puir young hearts maun drie. Weel do we mind the tearfu 1 day Our mither dwined awa' ; The wind sughed eerie thro' the wud3, The hills were clad wi' snaw. Sac waesomely the robin chirp'd, Upon our window stane ; The misty shadows o' that hour, Yet linger round. our brain. We've wandered east, we've wandered west, Thro' mony a changefu' scene ; Butourthochts were aye on tbegrassy mounds Away in the Mrkyard green. "Where the same sod haps our mither's bieast An' our fathe/s manly brow; An' a stane is at their head to show That we are orphans now. We've trailed o'er mony a lanesome moor, - We've speiled wp mony a brae ; O, 'tis a hard an' weary thing To roam £rae day to day. An' thole the cauld an' bitter blast, The winter's frost an' snaw — • *• The seorchin' heat o' simmer tide, An' what is waur than a' — ■■••" The scorn o' a cauld warld, ladye; The doom o' povertie, That little kens the waesome weird, Our puir young hearts maun drie. ' '" We've come a weary, weary way, Our little feet are sore ; . . . : , ' Q ladye, pity to us show,. ... And ope yere shelterin 1 door. ' O ! blessings on the tender words . That ye sac kindly speak, An' blessings on the crystal tear ' - That's rowin' down yere cheek. There are seraphs Bfeverin' near, ladye, To kep that dewy gem, Meir preeiou3 than the glitterin 1 pearls ' O' earthly diadem. That gem \vill deck yere crown, ladya, In yonder shinin' land, ....": When aw c Joyed on e^h w^|f»f js