The poem is about Earth being overlooked by other celestial bodies like Mars, Venus, and the moon who are too busy talking about themselves. While they spare no thought for Earth, the poem calls Earth a "bonnie broukit bairn" or beautiful battered child. It tells Earth to cry and drown out the meaningless chatter of the other bodies in its tears. The document then provides a brief definition of form in poetry as the physical structure including line length, rhythm, rhyme scheme, and repetition.

1. The Bonnie Broukit Bairn
Hugh MacDiarmid

2. The Bonnie Broukit Bairn
Mars is braw in crammasy,
Venus in a green silk goun,
The auld mune shak’s her gowden feathers,
Their starry talk’s a wheen o’ blethers,
Nane for thee a thochtie sparin’,
Earth, thou bonnie broukit bairn!
— But greet, an’ in your tears ye’ll drown
The hail clanjamfrie!

3. Form
Form, in poetry, is the physical structure of
the poem:
•the length of the lines,
•their rhythms,
•their system of rhymes,
•repetition.