"Epitaph for James Smith" is a satirical Scots epitaph written by poet Robert Burns in 1785, and was included in his first publication, the Kilmarnock volume: LAMENT him, Mauchline husbands a’, He aften did assist ye; For had ye staid hale weeks awa, Your wives they ne’er had miss’d ye. Ye Mauchline bairns, as on ye press, To school in bands thegither, O tread ye lightly on his grass,— Perhaps he was your father! See also Epistle to James Smith The Scottish town of Mauchline References 1785 poems Poetry by Robert Burns