The Auld Man's Prayer
Lord, I'm an auld man,An' I'm deein!An' do what I canI canna help beinSome feart at the thoucht!I'm no what I oucht!An' thou art sae gran',Me but an auld man!
I haena gotten muckleGuid o' the warld;Though siller a puckleThegither I hae harlt,Noo I maun be rid o' 't,The ill an' the guid o' 't!An' I wud--I s' no back frae 't--Rather put til 't nor tak frae 't!
It's a pity a bodyCoudna haud on here,Puttin cloddy to cloddyTill he had a bit lan' here!--But eh I'm forgettinWhaur the tide's settin!It'll pusion my prayerTill it's no worth a hair!
It's awfu, it's awfuTo think 'at I'm gaeinWhaur a' 's ower wi' the lawfu,Whaur's an en' til a' haein!It's gruesome to en'The thing 'at ye ken,An' gang to begin tilWhat ye canna see intil!
Thou may weel turn awa,Lord, an' say it's a shame'At noo I suld ca'On thy licht-giein nameWha my lang life-timeWud no see a stime!An' the fac' there's no fleein--But hae pity--I'm deein!
I'm thine ain efter a'--The waur shame I'm nae better!Dinna sen' me awa,Dinna curse a puir cratur!I never jist cheatit--I own I defeatit,Gart his poverty tellOn him 'at maun sell!
Oh that my probationHad lain i' some regionWhaur was less considerationFor gear mixt wi' religion!It's the mixin the twa'At jist ruins a'!That kirk's the deil's placeWhaur gear glorifees grace!
I hae learnt nought but ae thing'At life's but a span!I hae warslet for naething!I hae noucht i' my han'!At the fut o' the stairsI'm sayin my prayers:--Lord, lat the auld loonConfess an' lie doon.
I hae been an ill man--Micht hae made a guid dog!I could rin though no stan--Micht hae won throu a bog!But 't was ower easy gaein,An' I set me to playin!Dinna sen' me awaWhaur's no licht ava!
Forgie me an' hap me!I hae been a sharp thorn.But, oh, dinna drap me!I'll be coothie the morn!To my brither JohnOh, lat me atone--An' to mair I cud nameGien I'd time to tak blame!
I hae wullt a' my gearTo my cousin Lippit:She needs 't no a hair,An' wud haud it grippit!But I'm thinkin 't 'll be betterTo gie 't a bit scatterWhaur it winna cankerBut mak a bit anchor!
Noo I s'try to sit looseTo the warld an' its thrang!Lord, come intil my hoose,For Sathan sall gang!Awa here I sen' him--Oh, haud the hoose agane him,Or thou kens what he'll daur--He'll be back wi' seven waur!
Lord, I knock at thy yett!I hear the dog yowlin!Lang latna me wait--My conscience is growlin!Whaur but to theeWha was broken for me,But to thee, Lord, sae gran',Can flee an auld man!
Words in this poem
- auld a.
- Old; as, Auld Reekie (old smoky), i. e., Edinburgh. [See Old.]
- canna n.
- A measure of length in Italy, varying from six to seven feet. [It.]
- cloddy a.
- Consisting of clods; full of clods.
- gruesome
- , Grue"some, a. Etym: [From a word akin to Dan. gru horror, terror + -some; cf. D. gruwzaam, G. grausam. Cf. Grisly.]
- weel
- A kind of trap or snare for fish, made of twigs. Carew. [Prov. E. weel, weal, a wicker basket to catch eels; prob. akin to willow, and so called as made of willow twigs.]
- stime n.
- A slight gleam or glimmer; a glimpse. Halliwell. [Etymology uncertain.]
- probation n.
- The act of proving; also, that which proves anything; proof. [L. probatio, fr. probare to try, examine, prove: cf. F. probation. See Prove.]
- morn n.
- The first part of the day; the morning; -- used chiefly in poetry. [OE. morwen, morgen, AS. morgen; akin to D. morgen, OS. morgan, G. morgen, Icel. morginn, morgunn, Sw. morgon, Dan. morgen, Goth. maúrgins. Cf. Morrow, Morning.]
- atone v. t.
- To set at one; to reduce to concord; to reconcile, as parties at variance; to appease.
- needs adv.
- Of necessity; necessarily; indispensably; -- often with must, and equivalent to of need. [Orig. gen. of need, used as an adverb. Cf. - wards.]
- sall n.
- An East Indian timber tree (Shorea robusta), much used for building purposes. It is of a light brown color, close-grained, and durable. [Hind. s\'bel, Skr. ç\'bela.]
- yett n.
- Any one of several species of large marine gastropods belonging to the genus Yetus, or Cymba; a boat shell.
- conscience n.
- Knowledge of one's own thoughts or actions; consciousness. [F. conscience, fr. L. conscientia, fr. consciens, p.pr. of conscire to know, to be conscious; con- + scire to know. See Science.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Auld Man's Prayer is in the public domain. This text is taken from The poetical works of George MacDonald in two volumes — Volume 2, Project Gutenberg ebook #9984; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: George MacDonald, The Auld Man's Prayer, in A Microcosm in Terza Rima, and Other Poems (1893), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #9984, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/macdonald-poems/the-auld-man-s-prayer.html, id L22562.
Form and metre
The Auld Man's Prayer is 104 lines in 13 stanzas of 8 lines each. The metre is trochaic trimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 76%).
See other poems in trochaic trimeter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 A-A-BBAA manA · deein · canA · bein · thouchtB · ouchtB · granA · manA
- 2 A-A-BBBB muckleA · warld · puckleA · harlt · tB · tB · tB · tB
- 3 ABABCCDD bodyA · hereB · cloddyA · hereB · forgettinC · settinC · prayerD · hairD
- 4 -A-ABB-- awfu · gaeinA · lawfu · haeinA · enB · kenB · til · intil
- 5 -A-ABBCC awa · shameA · ca · nameA · timeB · stimeB · fleeinC · deeinC
- 6 ----AABB a · better · awa · cratur · cheatitA · defeatitA · tellB · sellB
- 7 A-A---BB probationA · region · considerationA · religion · twa · a · placeB · graceB
- 8 ABABCCDD thingA · spanB · naethingA · hanB · stairsC · prayersC · loonD · doonD
- 9 ABAB---- manA · dogB · stanA · bogB · gaein · playin · awa · ava
- 10 ABAB--CC meA · thornB · meA · mornB · john · atone · nameC · blameC
- 11 ABAB--CC gearA · lippitB · hairA · grippitB · better · scatter · cankerC · anchorC
- 12 ABABCCDD looseA · thrangB · hooseA · gangB · himC · himC · daurD · waurD
- 13 -A-ABBCC yett · yowlinA · wait · growlinA · theeB · meB · granC · manC
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against trochaic trimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Lord, I'm an auld man, | 5 | ····· |
| An' I'm deein! | 3 | ··· |
| An' do what I can | 5 | ····· |
| I canna help bein | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| Some feart at the thoucht! | 5 | ····· |
| I'm no what I oucht! | 5 | ····· |
| An' thou art sae gran', | 5 | ····· |
| Me but an auld man! | 5 | ····· |
| I haena gotten muckle | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| Guid o' the warld; | 4 | ···· |
| Though siller a puckle | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Thegither I hae harlt, | 6 | ······ |
| Noo I maun be rid o' 't, | 7 | ······· |
| The ill an' the guid o' 't! | 7 | ······· |
| An' I wud--I s' no back frae 't-- | 9 | ········· |
| Rather put til 't nor tak frae 't! | 9 | /˘······· |
| It's a pity a body | 7 | ··/˘·/˘ |
| Coudna haud on here, | 5 | ····· |
| Puttin cloddy to cloddy | 7 | ··/˘·/˘ |
| Till he had a bit lan' here!-- | 7 | ······· |
| But eh I'm forgettin | 6 | ······ |
| Whaur the tide's settin! | 5 | ····· |
| It'll pusion my prayer | 6 | /˘···· |
| Till it's no worth a hair! | 6 | ······ |
| It's awfu, it's awfu | 6 | ······ |
| To think 'at I'm gaein | 5 | ····· |
| Whaur a' 's ower wi' the lawfu, | 9 | ········· |
| Whaur's an en' til a' haein! | 6 | ······ |
| It's gruesome to en' | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| The thing 'at ye ken, | 5 | ····· |
| An' gang to begin til | 6 | ···˘/· |
| What ye canna see intil! | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Thou may weel turn awa, | 6 | ······ |
| Lord, an' say it's a shame | 6 | ······ |
| 'At noo I suld ca' | 5 | ····· |
| On thy licht-giein name | 5 | ····· |
| Wha my lang life-time | 5 | ····· |
| Wud no see a stime! | 5 | ····· |
| An' the fac' there's no fleein-- | 6 | ······ |
| But hae pity--I'm deein! | 6 | ··/˘·· |
| I'm thine ain efter a'-- | 6 | ······ |
| The waur shame I'm nae better! | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Dinna sen' me awa, | 6 | ······ |
| Dinna curse a puir cratur! | 7 | ······· |
| I never jist cheatit-- | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| I own I defeatit, | 6 | ······ |
| Gart his poverty tell | 6 | ··/˘˘· |
| On him 'at maun sell! | 5 | ····· |
| Oh that my probation | 6 | ···˘/˘ |
| Had lain i' some region | 6 | ····/˘ |
| Whaur was less consideration | 8 | ···˘·˘/˘ |
| For gear mixt wi' religion! | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| It's the mixin the twa | 6 | ······ |
| 'At jist ruins a'! | 5 | ··/˘· |
| That kirk's the deil's place | 5 | ····· |
| Whaur gear glorifees grace! | 5 | ····· |
| I hae learnt nought but ae thing | 7 | ······· |
| 'At life's but a span! | 5 | ····· |
| I hae warslet for naething! | 7 | ······· |
| I hae noucht i' my han'! | 6 | ······ |
| At the fut o' the stairs | 6 | ······ |
| I'm sayin my prayers:-- | 4 | ···· |
| Lord, lat the auld loon | 5 | ····· |
| Confess an' lie doon. | 5 | ˘/··· |
| I hae been an ill man-- | 6 | ······ |
| Micht hae made a guid dog! | 6 | ······ |
| I could rin though no stan-- | 6 | ······ |
| Micht hae won throu a bog! | 6 | ······ |
| But 't was ower easy gaein, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| An' I set me to playin! | 6 | ······ |
| Dinna sen' me awa | 6 | ······ |
| Whaur's no licht ava! | 5 | ···/˘ |
| Forgie me an' hap me! | 6 | /˘···· |
| I hae been a sharp thorn. | 6 | ······ |
| But, oh, dinna drap me! | 6 | ······ |
| I'll be coothie the morn! | 6 | ······ |
| To my brither John | 5 | ····· |
| Oh, lat me atone-- | 5 | ···˘/ |
| An' to mair I cud name | 6 | ······ |
| Gien I'd time to tak blame! | 6 | ······ |
| I hae wullt a' my gear | 6 | ······ |
| To my cousin Lippit: | 6 | ··/˘·· |
| She needs 't no a hair, | 6 | ······ |
| An' wud haud it grippit! | 6 | ······ |
| But I'm thinkin 't 'll be better | 9 | ··/˘···/˘ |
| To gie 't a bit scatter | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Whaur it winna canker | 6 | ····/˘ |
| But mak a bit anchor! | 6 | ····/˘ |
| Noo I s'try to sit loose | 6 | ······ |
| To the warld an' its thrang! | 6 | ······ |
| Lord, come intil my hoose, | 6 | ······ |
| For Sathan sall gang! | 5 | ····· |
| Awa here I sen' him-- | 6 | ······ |
| Oh, haud the hoose agane him, | 7 | ······· |
| Or thou kens what he'll daur-- | 6 | ······ |
| He'll be back wi' seven waur! | 6 | ····/· |
| Lord, I knock at thy yett! | 6 | ······ |
| I hear the dog yowlin! | 6 | ······ |
| Lang latna me wait-- | 5 | ····· |
| My conscience is growlin! | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Whaur but to thee | 4 | ···· |
| Wha was broken for me, | 6 | ··/˘·· |
| But to thee, Lord, sae gran', | 6 | ······ |
| Can flee an auld man! | 5 | ····· |
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