One of Robert Burns poems contains the phrase "Every bird thy requiem
sings"   My question is Which Poem and can I find it on the internet

Hello and thanks for your question. 


The poem is "To Miss Cruickshank, a Very Young Lady".


Beauteous rose-bud, young and gay,
Blooming in thy early May,
Never may'st thou, lovely flow'r,
Chilly shrink in sleety show'r!
Never Boreas' hoary path,
Never Eurus' pois'nous breath,
Never baleful stellar lights,
Taint thee with untimely blights!
Never, never reptile thief,
Riot on thy virgin leaf!
Nor even Sol too fiercely view,
Thy bosom blushing still with dew!
May'st thou long, sweet crimson gem,
Richly deck thy native stem:
Till some ev'ning, sober, calm,
Dropping dews, and breathing balm,
While all around the woodland rings,
And ev'ry bird thy requiem sings;
Thou, amid the dirgeful sound,
Shed thy dying honours round,
And resign to parent earth
The loveliest form she e'er gave birth.


You'll find it online at the 'Burns Country' website
http://www.robertburns.org/works/252.shtml

It was written in 1789, "on the blank leaf of a book", two years after
a song written for the same 'rosebud' when she was twelve:

"A Rosebud by my Early Walk":
http://www.robertburns.org/works/193.shtml

Miss Jane Cruickshank was the daughter of an Edinburgh acquaintance
with a house in St. James Square where Burns lodged for a few months
of 1787-8. There's a little information about her father, William
Cruickshank, here:

William Cruickshank
http://www.robertburns.org/encyclopedia/CruikshankWilliamd1795.248.shtml

Burns' poetry is freely available (no copyright problems) and this
poem is published in a few other places on the net, among them:

Poetry, Songs and Writers of Scotland
http://www.it-serve.co.uk/poetry/Burns/cruickshank.php



I hope this is helpful. If you'd like further explanation of anything,
please feel free to 'request clarification' and I'll be happy to
assist.


Regards - Leli


search strategy:

Because 'every' is spelt 'ev'ry' in the poem, including "every bird"
in the search didn't work and this was better:
Burns "thy requiem"
://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=burns+%22thy+requiem%22&btnG=Google+Search&meta=

---

Clarification of Answer by leli-ga on 21 Jan 2003 11:30 PST

What an excellent choice for your cards. It is a memorable and moving
line - but I am very sorry to hear of your loss. Please accept my
condolences.

Thank you for the five star rating and kind words. I'm glad to have
been able to help find the poem.

I am totally amazed and delighted with the speed and detail of your
response.   I used the phrase(which I remembered)on a card on the
death of my wife, and I am getting a lot of calls asking where I found
such an appropriate line for a
Scottish lady. (The card also had a nice little picture of a thistle)