Bliss Carman, et al., eds. The World’s Best Poetry. 1904.
I. Admiration“O, saw ye the lass?”
Richard Ryan (1796–1849)O,
Her smile is the sweetest that ever was seen;
Her cheek like the rose is, but fresher, I ween;
She ’s the loveliest lassie that trips on the green.
The home of my love is below in the valley,
Where wild-flowers welcome the wandering bee;
But the sweetest of flowers in that spot that is seen
Is the maid that I love wi’ the bonny blue een.
She ’ll steal out to meet her loved Donald again;
And when the moon shines on the valley so green,
I ’ll welcome the lass wi’ the bonny blue een.
As the dove that has wandered away from his nest
Returns to the mate his fond heart loves the best,
I ’ll fly from the world’s false and vanishing scene,
To my dear one, the lass wi’ the bonny blue een.