Behold the Hour, the Boat, Arrive
written in 1791
Behold the Hour, the Boat, Arrive - fact Summary
Farewell to an Emigrant Friend
Robert Burns wrote Behold The Hour, The Boat, Arrive in 1791 as a personal farewell to Nancy McLeod, who was emigrating to the West Indies. The speaker watches the departing boat and expresses acute sorrow at separation, warmed only by the hope that she will remember him. Coastal images, the shore, sea-fowl, and the rolling, dashing roar, frame his westward gaze toward the imagined Indian grove where Nancy will live. The poem turns a private moment of loss into a brief meditation on distance, memory, and affectionate attachment.
Read Complete AnalysesBehold the hour, the boat, arrive! My dearest Nancy, O fareweel! Severed frae thee, can I survive, Frae thee whom I hae lov'd sae weel ? Endless and deep shall be my grief; Nae ray of comfort shall I see, But this most precious, dear belief, That thou wilt still remember me! Alang the solitary shore Where flitting sea-fowl round me cry, Across the rolling, dashing roar, I'll westward turn my wishful eye. "Happy thou Indian grove," I'll say, "Where now my Nancy's path shall be! While thro' your sweets she holds her way, O tell me, does she muse on me?"
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