The Naulahka: A Story of West and East

There was a strife ‘twixt man and maid —
Oh that was at the birth o’ time!
But what befell ‘twixt man and maid,
Oh that’s beyond the grip o’ rhyme.
’Twas: ‘Sweet, I must not bide wi’ you,’
And: ‘Love, I canna bide alone’;
For baith were young, and baith were true,
And baith were hard as the nether stone.