Buttonholing Burns

I am not of his time, his stock or his ancestry,
but I am his solid countryman; his entranced brother.

I am neither his friend nor his acquaintance,
but I walk in the grounds of his comradeship.

I do not know his true, inner self; nor his public image,
but his good-natured face smoulders in my memory.

I do not know his nature, nor the truth of his temperament,
but I am waylaid by his unconquerable spirit.

I do not speak his language; nor do I hear his voice,
but his words are my rations, come fire or come frost.

John Rice

Find out more about John Rice's Homecoming activities on this page.

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