On Seeing a Wounded Hare
Robert Burns, April 1789
Recited by Ella McTier
On 21st April 1789 Burns wrote to his friend and confidant, Mrs Dunlop. He wrote ‘Two mornings ago as I was at a very early hour, sowing the fields. I heard a shot, and presently a poor little hare limped by me, apparently very much hurt. You will easily guess, this set my humanity in tears and my indignation in arms. The following was the result.”
This poem is one of five works recited and recorded by Gold and Silver medallists in the Dumfries and Galloway Burns Association Schools Competition 2026 to create the Ellisland Poetry Trail. Follow the trail, scan and listen to explore more of Burns’s writing from his time at Ellisland as brought to life by Dumfries and Galloway’s finest young performers.
Special thanks to OASIS Youthwork and the Holywood Trust who supported this project.