Lyric Poem · Nature
The Charms of Lovely Davies
by Robert Burns
O HOW shall I, unskilfu’, try
The poet’s occupation?
The tunefu’ powers, in happy hours,
That whisper inspiration;
Even they maun dare an effort mair
Than aught they ever gave us,
Ere they rehearse, in equal verse,
The charms o’ lovely Davies.
Each eye it cheers when she appears,
Like Phoebus in the morning,
When past the shower, and every flower
The garden is adorning:
As the wretch looks o’er Siberia’s shore,
When winter-bound the wave is;
Sae droops our heart, when we maun part
Frae charming, lovely Davies.
Her smile’s a gift frae ’boon the lift,
That maks us mair than princes;
A sceptred hand, a king’s command,
Is in her darting glances;
The man in arms ’gainst female charms
Even he her willing slave is,
He hugs his chain, and owns the reign
Of conquering, lovely Davies.
My Muse, to dream of such a theme,
Her feeble powers surrender:
The eagle’s gaze alone surveys
The sun’s meridian splendour.
I wad in vain essay the strain,
The deed too daring brave is;
I’ll drap the lyre, and mute admire
The charms o’ lovely Davies.
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“The Charms of Lovely Davies” by Robert Burns — quilloak.com/poems/the-charms-of-lovely-davies
Quick facts
- Poem
- The Charms of Lovely Davies
- Poet
- Robert Burns
- Length
- 32 lines
- Form
- Lyric Poem
- Themes
- Nature, Winter, Love
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
- 32 lines · 4 octaves
- End rhyme
- No regular perfect end rhyme. The poem may still be using slant rhyme, assonance, or internal echo, which this check does not score.
- Line length
- Lines run 7-9 syllables (median 8), consistent with tetrameter. No single length dominates, which is normal once elision and contraction are in play.
- Refrain
- “The charms o’ lovely Davies.”Repeated lines act as the poem's hinge or drumbeat.
Want the rules this form is measured against? Read what makes a lyric poem, or run your own draft through the form checker to see the same measurements on your lines. How we measure · Report a mistake
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
- PoetryDBThe Charms of Lovely Davies 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 dc0bfde739099108…
- Editorial handling
- Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.
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