Thou lovely river, thou art now As fair as fair can be, Pale flowers wreathe upon thy brow, The rose bends over thee. Only the morning sun hath leave To turn thy waves to light, Cool shade the willow branches weave When noon becomes too bright. The lilies are the only boats Upon thy diamond plain, The swan alone in silence floats Around thy charm'd domain. The moss bank's fresh embroiderie, With fairie favours starr'd, Seems made the summer haunt to be Of melancholy bard. Fair as thou art, thou wilt be food For many a thought of pain; For who can gaze upon thy flood, Nor wish it to remain The same pure and unsullied thing Where heaven's face is as clear Mirror'd in thy blue wandering As heaven's face can be here. Flowers fling their sweet bonds on thy breast, The willows woo thy stay, In vain,—thy waters may not rest, Their course must be away. In yon wide world, what wilt thou find? What all find—toil and care: Your flowers you have left behind Far other weight to bear. The heavy bridge confines your stream, Through which the barges toil, Smoke has shut out the sun's glad beam, Thy waves have caught the soil. On—on—though weariness it be, By shoal and barrier cross'd, Till thou hast reach'd the mighty sea, And there art wholly lost. Bend thou, young poet, o'er the stream— Such fate will be thine own; Thy lute's hope is a morning dream, And when have dreams not flown? | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE BLACK MAMMY by JAMES WELDON JOHNSON IN THE GARDEN (1) by EMILY DICKINSON THE TABLES TURNED by WILLIAM WORDSWORTH EVIL EASIER THAN GOOD by THOMAS BAILEY ALDRICH BEAUTY OF NATURE by HENRY ALFORD ADDRESS TO A STEAM-VESSEL by JOANNA BAILLIE |