Classic and Contemporary Poetry
MOUNTAIN STREAM, by LOUISE DRISCOLL First Line: The stream that wore this little valley down Last Line: To wear and wear. Subject(s): Brooks; Streams; Creeks | ||||||||
The stream that wore this little valley down Had patience of the unintelligent. It had no care of time. The living things That came on cautious feet, thirst-driven, intent On water and a waiting enemy, Blurred foot-prints of wild things that came before, And still the water ate into the shore. Death and decay and little running feet, And gray flat-headed snakes, swift, slippery, still In the cool water-cress, and iris sweet Shining through water like a drowned girl's eyes; And water, water, wearing down the hill. It's men who count, saying one, two, three, four; It's beasts that fear, looking from left to right. Iris and cardinal-flower are now no more, Frost withered the wild rice, and wild ducks take their flight. The water-rat is dead with his teeth showing, Set like a vice -- but the stream doesn't care. The stream has centuries beyond our knowing To wear and wear. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...DOWN THE BROOK by ROBERT FROST A CLEARING BY A STREAM by ALICIA SUSKIN OSTRIKER STREAM by ALICIA SUSKIN OSTRIKER THE ASPEN AND THE STREAM by RICHARD WILBUR WEST RUNNING BROOK by ROBERT FROST BIRCH STREAM by ANNA BOYNTON AVERILL THE VALLEY BROOK by JOHN HOWARD BRYANT |
|