Lyric Poem · Friendship
Inscription to Chloris
by Robert Burns
1’TIS Friendship’s pledge, my young, fair Friend,
2 Nor thou the gift refuse,
3Nor with unwilling ear attend
4 The moralising Muse.
5Since thou, in all thy youth and charms,
6 Must bid the world adieu,
7(A world ’gainst Peace in constant arms)
8 To join the Friendly Few.
9Since, thy gay morn of life o’ercast,
10 Chill came the tempest’s lour;
11(And ne’er Misfortune’s eastern blast
12 Did nip a fairer flower.)
13Since life’s gay scenes must charm no more,
14 Still much is left behind,
15Still nobler wealth hast thou in store—
16 The comforts of the mind!
Full-text availability follows the United States display decision recorded below; status can differ elsewhere.
“Inscription to Chloris” by Robert Burns — quilloak.com/poems/inscription-to-chloris
Quick facts
- Poem
- Inscription to Chloris
- Poet
- Robert Burns
- Length
- 24 lines
- Form
- Lyric Poem
- Themes
- Friendship, Love, Nature
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
- 24 lines · 6 quatrains
- 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.
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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
- PoetryDBInscription to Chloris 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 82ac39b08adbcfcd…
- Editorial handling
- Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.