Lyric Poem · Nature
On a Bank of Flowers
by Robert Burns
1ON a bank of flowers, in a summer day,
2 For summer lightly drest,
3The youthful, blooming Nelly lay,
4 With love and sleep opprest;
5When Willie, wand’ring thro’ the wood,
6Who for her favour oft had sued;
7 He gaz’d, he wish’d
8 He fear’d, he blush’d,
9And trembled where he stood.
10Her closèd eyes, like weapons sheath’d,
11 Were seal’d in soft repose;
12Her lip, still as she fragrant breath’d,
13 It richer dyed the rose;
14The springing lilies, sweetly prest,
15Wild-wanton kissed her rival breast;
16 He gaz’d, he wish’d,
17 He mear’d, he blush’d,
18His bosom ill at rest.
Full-text availability follows the United States display decision recorded below; status can differ elsewhere.
“On a Bank of Flowers” by Robert Burns — quilloak.com/poems/on-a-bank-of-flowers
Quick facts
- Poem
- On a Bank of Flowers
- Poet
- Robert Burns
- Length
- 36 lines
- Form
- Lyric Poem
- Themes
- Nature, Love, Summer
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
- 36 lines · 4 stanzas of 9 lines
- Refrains
- “He gaz’d, he wish’d”“He fear’d, he blush’d,”“He gaz’d, he wish’d,”Repeated lines act as the poem's hinge or drumbeat.
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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
- PoetryDBOn a Bank of Flowers 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 51c7bdb3d7b24442…
- Editorial handling
- Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.