Address To the Haggis:
Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face,
Great chieftain o the puddin'-race!
Aboon them a' ye tak your place,
Painch, tripe, or thairm:
Weel are ye wordy of a grace
As lang's my arm.
The groaning trencher there ye fill,
Your hurdies like a distant hill,
Your pin wad help to mend a mill
In time o need,
While thro your pores the dews distil
Like amber bead.
His knife see rustic Labour dight,
An cut you up wi ready slight,
Trenching your gushing entrails bright,
Like onie ditch;
And then, O what a glorious sight,
Warm-reekin, rich!
Then, horn for horn, they stretch an strive:
Deil tak the hindmost, on they drive,
Till a' their weel-swall'd kytes belyve
Are bent like drums;
The auld Guidman, maist like to rive,
'Bethankit' hums.
Is there that owre his French ragout,
Or olio that wad staw a sow,
Or fricassee wad mak her spew
Wi perfect sconner,
Looks down wi sneering, scornfu view
On sic a dinner?
Poor devil! see him owre his trash,
As feckless as a wither'd rash,
His spindle shank a guid whip-lash,
His nieve a nit:
Thro bloody flood or field to dash,
O how unfit!
But mark the Rustic, haggis-fed,
The trembling earth resounds his tread,
Clap in his walie nieve a blade,
He'll make it whissle;
An legs an arms, an heads will sned,
Like taps o thrissle.
Ye Pow'rs, wha mak mankind your care,
And dish them out their bill o fare,
Auld Scotland wants nae skinking ware
That jaups in luggies:
But, if ye wish her gratefu prayer,
Gie her a Haggis!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Speaking of haggis...
I actually just read this in the paper this morning, but apparently Haggis has been blacklisted for causing childhood obesity.
The Scottish Government has stated that it is equivalent to chicken nuggets and, "like burgers and hot dogs. . . haggis should only be served to youngsters once a week because of its high fat and salt content."
To which our dear friend Alan of Angus Butchers (the reigning Scottish Haggis masters) states "with good turnips and potatoes, there's nothing more nutritious than haggis. It's made of all natural ingredients - there's no rubbish in it at all. To compare it with processed meat like chicken nuggets or hot dogs is just ridiculous."
Note: the obesity problem has been especially prominent in pre-school children.
Burns must be rolling in his grave. Also wishing he had haggis.
quotes taken from news on scotsman.com at: http://news.scotsman.com/latest_scotland.cfm?id=119192006
Sigh.
That's a sad point about the fat children.
Unfortunately, I've never had the opportunity to have haggis.
Post a Comment