Poetry Explorer


Classic and Contemporary Poetry


BY THE WATER by CHRISTINA GEORGINA ROSSETTI

Poet Analysis

First Line: THERE ARE RIVERS LAPSING DOWN
Last Line: AND AH, WHERE IS MY FRIEND? --
Subject(s): FLOWERS; FRIENDSHIP; LILIES; THAMES (RIVER);

There are rivers lapsing down
Lily-laden to the sea;
Every lily is a boat
For bees, one, two, or three:
I wish there were a fairy boat
For you, my friend, and me.

We would rock upon the river,
Scarcely floating by;
Rocking rocking like the lilies,
You, my friend, and I;
Rocking like the stately lilies
Beneath the statelier sky.

But ah, where is that river
Whose hyacinth banks descend
Down to the sweeter lilies,
Till soft their shadows blend
Into a watery twilight? --
And ah, where is my friend? --



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