Young Rory O'More courted Kathleen bán, He was bold as a hawk, - and she soft as the dawn; He wished in his heart pretty Kathleen to please, And he thought the best way to do that was to tease; "Now Rory, be aisy," sweet Kathleen would cry - Reproof on her lip, but a smile in her eye; "With your tricks, I don't know, in troth, what I'm about; Faith, you've teased me till I've put on my cloak inside out"; "Och, jewel," says Rory "that same is the way You've thrated my heart for this many a day, And 'til plased that I am, and why not, to be sure? For 'tis all for good luck," says bold Rory O'More. "Indeed, then," says Kathleen, "don't think of the like, For I half gave a promise to soothering Mike; The ground that I walk on he loves, I'll be bound." "Faith," says Rory, "I'd rather love you than the ground." "Now, Rory, I'll cry, if you don't let me go; Sure I dhrame every night that I'm hating you so." "Och," says Rory, "that same I'm delighted to hear, For dhrames always go by contraries, my dear; So, jewel, keep dhramin' that same till you die, And bright mornin' will give dirty night the black lie; And 'til plased that I am, and why not to be sure? Since 'tis all for good luck," says bold Rory O'More. "Arrah, Kathleen, my darlint, you've teased me enough, And I've thrashed for your sake Danny Grimes and James Duff, And I've made myself, drinkin' your health, quite a baste, So I think, after that, I may talk to the priest." Then Rory, the rogue, stole his arm round her neck, So soft and so white, without freckle or speck, And he looked in her eyes that were beaming with light. And he kissed her sweet lips - don't you think he was right? "Now, Rory, leave off, sir; you'll hug me no more; That's eight times to-day that you've kissed me before." "Then here goes another," says he, "to make sure, For there's luck in odd numbers," says Rory O'More. ("Rory O'More", by Samuel Lover, printed in Poems of the Irish People, 2016)
It’s cute to imagine this scene, Rory and Kathleen teasing back and forth. My favorite line is when Rory tells Kathleen, “I’d rather love you than the ground.”
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