Talk of Him That's Far Awa

Robert Burns* waits for me at the top of the steps coming up from Union Terrace Gardens.

Musing on the roaring ocean,
Which divides my love and me;
Wearying heav'n in warm devotion,
For his weal where'er he be.

Hope and Fear's alternate billow
Yielding late to Nature's law,
Whispering spirits round my pillow,
Talk of him that's far awa.

Ye whom sorrow never wounded,
Ye who never shed a tear,
Care-untroubled, joy-surrounded,
Gaudy day to you is dear.

Gentle night, do thou befriend me,
Downy sleep, the curtain draw;
Spirits kind, again attend me,
Talk of him that's far awa!

(1788)

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*The Burns statue in Aberdeen is the work of Henry Bain Smith, a local sculptor, and was unveiled on 15th September 1892.