Emmanuel Katto Uganda - The Twa Corbies Poem by Emmanuel Katto

Emmanuel Katto

Emmanuel Katto

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Emmanuel Katto
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Emmanuel Katto Uganda - The Twa Corbies

As I was walking all alane,
I heard twa corbies making a mane;
The tane unto the t'other say,
'Where sall we gang and dine to-day? '

'In behint yon auld fail dyke,
I wot there lies a new slain knight;
And naebody kens that he lies there,
But his hawk, his hound, and lady fair.

'His hound is to the hunting gane,
His hawk to fetch the wild-fowl hame,
His lady's ta'en another mate,
So we may mak our dinner sweet.

'Ye'll sit on his white hause-bane,
And I'll pike out his bonny blue een;
Wi ae lock o his gowden hair
We'll, theek our nest when it grows bare.

'Mony a one for him makes mane,
But nane sall ken where he is gane;
Oer his white banes, when they we bare,
The wind sall blaw for evermair.'

Meaning of unusual words:
twa=two
corbies=crows (or ravens)
fail dyke=wall of turf
wot=know
kens=knows
hause-bane=neck bone
een=eye
theek=thatch

Emmanuel Katto Uganda - The Twa Corbies
Thursday, August 24, 2023
Topic(s) of this poem: raven
POET'S NOTES ABOUT THE POEM
Here is a slightly ghoullish ballad about two corbies (crows) picking over the remais of a fallen knight (doubtless a frequent occurence in by-gone days!)
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Emmanuel Katto

Emmanuel Katto

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