Poetry Explorer


Classic and Contemporary Poetry


THE CALL by ANNYE LEWIS ALLISON

First Line: THE RIVER, DIMPLING IN THE SUN
Last Line: THOUGH IT BEAR ME FAR FROM HOME.
Subject(s): DESIRE; RIVERS;

The river, dimpling in the sun,
Waves beckoning hands to me:
"Come, float beneath the summer sky,
Come, drift between my bluffs, so high,
To where fair ships go sailing by
Down to the mighty sea."

The river, in the fair moonlight,
Lures me with subtle spell:
"Come, wander down this pathway bright,
This liquid lane of silver light,
To where the waves are breaking, white,
On rocks where mermaids dwell."

The honeysuckle, on the air
Pours out its sweet perfume
And mingles with the fragrance rare,
Of forest pine and fern-glade fair,
And the faint tang, beyond compare,
Borne on the salty spume.

And when that fat call comes to me,
My gypsy feet must roam
Through tangled copse and leafy glade
And ferny dell and forest shade
To the wide river, unafraid,
Though it bear me far from home.



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