Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, INSCRIPTION FOR A TABLET ON THE BANKS OF A STREAM, by ROBERT SOUTHEY


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

INSCRIPTION FOR A TABLET ON THE BANKS OF A STREAM, by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: Stranger! Awhile upon this mossy bank
Last Line: Of innocence, and thou shalt find her there.
Subject(s): Comfort; Graves; Happiness; Innocence; Rivers; Tombs; Tombstones; Joy; Delight


STRANGER! awhile upon this mossy bank
Recline thee. If the sun rides high, the breeze,
That loves to ripple o'er the rivulet,
Will play around thy brow, and the cool sound
Of running waters soothe thee. Mark how clear
It sparkles o'er the shallows; and behold
Where o'er its surface wheels with restless speed
Yon glossy insect; on the sand below
How the swift shadow flits. The stream is pure
In solitude, and many a healthful herb
Bends o'er its course and drinks the vital wave:
But passing on amid the haunts of man,
It finds pollution there, and rolls from thence
A tainted tide. Seek'st thou for happiness?
Go, stranger, sojourn in the woodland cot
Of innocence, and thou shalt find her there.





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