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Lyric Poem · Love

Farewell to Eliza

by Robert Burns

1FROM thee, Eliza, I must go,

2 And from my native shore;

3The cruel fates between us throw

4 A boundless ocean’s roar:

5But boundless oceans, roaring wide,

6 Between my love and me,

7They never, never can divide

8 My heart and soul from thee.

9Farewell, farewell, Eliza dear,

10 The maid that I adore!

11A boding voice is in mine ear,

12 We part to meet no more!

13But the latest throb that leaves my heart,

14 While Death stands victor by,—

15That throb, Eliza, is thy part,

16 And thine that latest sigh!

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Quick facts

Poem
Farewell to Eliza
Poet
Robert Burns
Length
16 lines
Form
Lyric Poem
Themes
Love, Nature, Death & Loss

Craft notes

How this poem works

Measured from the text on this page, not copied from a summary. Counts are approximate: syllables and rhymes come from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary, which models General American English, so dialect, older pronunciation, and performance can all change what you hear.

Shape
16 lines · 2 octaves
Line length
Lines run 6-8 syllables (median 8), consistent with tetrameter. No single length dominates, which is normal once elision and contraction are in play.
The poem’s silhouette — approximate syllables per line, measured from the text above. Even bars mean a measured line; ragged bars mean the poem sets its own widths.

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Text, source & rights

A traceable edition

Full-text display is based on the committed source record and a United States term-expiry review.

Author record
Robert Burns1759–1796
Source record
PoetryDBFarewell to Eliza by robert-burns, PoetryDB transcription
Display decision
Full text · United States · reviewed 2026-07-18
Publication record
Not recorded in the imported source
Text fingerprint
SHA-256 5f6b99b2c2b71ff9
Editorial handling
Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.
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