Previous work: Lines written in the kirk of Lamington
Wae worth thy pow'r, thou cursed leaf! Fell source o' a' my woe and grief! For lake o' thee I've lost my lass! For lake o' thee I scrimp my glass! I see the children of Affliction Unaided, thro' thy curst restriction: I've seen the Oppressor's cruel smile Amid his hapless victim's spoil; And for thy potence vainly wish'd, To crush the Villain in the dust: For lake o' thee I leave this much-lov'd shore, Never perhaps, to greet old Scotland more!
This is a poem by Robert Burns. It was written in 1786 and is read here by Liam Brennan.
The Bank Of Scotland was founded by an act of the Scottish Parliament on the July 17th, 1695. Like Robert Burns, it would later be suspected of harbouring Jacobite sympathies. The bard jotted down today's poem on one of its guinea notes dated March 1st, 1780. He attributes all of his woes to the lack of this, 'accursed leaf'. The poet himself was to feature on Clydesdale Bank 'fivers' from 1971 until 2009, an irony he could be forgiven for failing to savour...
Donny O'Rourke
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