Poems

Chapter 71: I CANNA SLEEP. Written in 1833. Contributed to the Book of Scottish Song.

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About This Book

This collection gathers lyrical pieces that trace the day's and year's cycles, moving through sunrise, morning, noonday, sunset, moonlight and seasonal scenes. It pairs brief landscape lyrics with sonnets, songs, and occasional narrative ballads, blending vivid natural description—mountains, streams, birds, and coastal views—with meditative reflections on mortality, faith, memory, and poetic ambition. The tone alternates between pastoral celebration and sober contemplation, favoring clear sensory detail, moral sentiment, and accessible stanza forms that foreground feeling and observation over formal experimentation.

I CANNA SLEEP.
Written in 1833. Contributed to the Book of Scottish Song.

I canna sleep a wink, lassie,

When I gang to bed at night,

But still o' thee I think, lassie,

Till morning sheds its light.

I lie an' think o' thee, lassie,

And I toss frae side to side,

Like a vessel on the sea, lassie,

When stormy is the tide.

My heart is no my ain, lassie,

It winna bide wi' me,

Like a birdie it has gane, lassie,

To nestle saft wi' thee.

I canna lure it back, lassie,

Sae keep it to yoursel';

But oh! it sune will brak, lassie,

If you dinna use it well.

Where the treasure is they say, lassie,

The spirit lingers there,

An' mine has fled away, lassie,

You needna' ask me where.

I marvel oft if rest, lassie,

On my eyes and heart wad bide,

If I thy troth possessed, lassie,

And thou wert at my side.