To a louse on a lady

This week’s Classic Louse Poem is Robert Burn’s “To A Louse. On seeing one on a lady’s bonnet at church.” It begins:

Ha! Whare ye gaun, ye crowlin ferlie?
P_h_capitis_adult1Your impudence protects you sairly,
I canna say but ye strut rarely
Owre gauze and lace,
Tho’ faith! I fear ye dine but sparely
On sic a place….

The full poem, and a translation into so-called “standard English”, are on the Robert Burns Club web site.