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. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THIRD BOOK OF AIRS: SONG 27. LOVE, AND NEVER FEAR by THOMAS CAMPION SONG TO THE MEN OF ENGLAND by PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY AT THE FIRESIDE by JOHANNA AMBROSIUS THE SKY-GYPSY by WALTER BARDECK PSALM 64 by OLD TESTAMENT BIBLE |