On the Birth of a Posthumous Child
The speaker addresses a newborn child as a delicate flower, born amid severe family sorrow and cherished as the pledge of great love and many prayers. The child is helpless, sweet, and beautiful, yet faces a harsh world: November crosses the land, and the sheltering tree that should protect it is gone. The speaker prays that the power governing rain, wind, frost, and snow will guard the child from hardship. The prayer also turns to the child’s mother, portrayed as a wounded plant. Once flourishing strongly in summer, she now bends weakly and stands exposed and forlorn in the storm. The speaker asks that she be protected and healed by the friend of suffering and poverty. The child is blessed as a lovely gem, wished safety from cruel hands, and hoped to become the source of many future generations that will adorn the land.
By Robert Burns · First published 1786 · Genre: Lyric Poetry, Scottish Dialect Poetry, Elegiac Poetry · 242 words
First lines
Born in peculiar circumstances of family distress.
Sweet flow'ret, pledge o' meikle love, / And ward o' mony a prayer, / What heart o' stane wad thou na move, / Sae helpless, sweet, and fair?
November hirples o'er the lea, / Chil, on thy lovely form: / And gane, alas! the shelt'ring tree, / Should shield thee frae the storm.
May He who gives the rain to pour, / And wings the blast to blaw, / Protect thee frae the driving show'r, / The bitter frost and snaw.
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Genres
- Lyric Poetry — A short, emotionally concentrated poem expressing personal tenderness, sorrow, prayer, and hope through musical verse.
- Scottish Dialect Poetry — The work is written substantially in Scots vernacular, using forms such as 'meikle,' 'mony,' 'nae,' 'frae,' and 'blaw.'
- Elegiac Poetry — Its prevailing mood is mournful and compassionate, reflecting family distress, maternal suffering, abandonment, and vulnerability.
- Occasional Poetry — The poem responds to a particular real-life circumstance: the birth of a child amid acute family hardship.
Tags
Scottish poetry · Scots language · lyric poem · prayer · blessing · newborn child · posthumous birth · family grief · maternal sorrow · poverty and suffering · divine protection · Christian faith
What this Textopian page supports
On the Birth of a Posthumous Child is listed on Textopian as a poem by Robert Burns, dated 1786 CE.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Poem
- Author: Robert Burns
- Date: 1786 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Lyric Poetry, Scottish Dialect Poetry, Elegiac Poetry, Occasional Poetry, Pastoral Poetry
- Length: 242 words
- Structure: 1 section, 7 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)
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- Work identity for On the Birth of a Posthumous Child by Robert Burns
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