Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE WELL, by PAUL JOHANN LUDWIG VON HEYSE


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE WELL, by                    
First Line: Yes, wayward girl, be cold and shy
Last Line: Whose voice could set the fountain free!
Subject(s): Wells


YES, wayward girl, be cold and shy,
From morn till eve lock up thy heart;
The flashing lustre of thine eye
Must still betray how rich thou art.

That legendary tale they tell
Comes back, while thus I gaze and think:
In some old city lay a well,
Whose virgin waters none might drink.

So deep, so fathomless a well
So wondrous deep, that when they let
A pitcher down, for hours it fell,
And had not reached the bottom yet.

A minstrel, wandering through the land,
Espied it, as he passed along;
He took his fiddle in his hand,
And played a tune and sang a song.

And hark! a sound unwonted here,
A rising, rushing, surging, splashing,
Of water sweet, and cool, and clear,
High over the brim exuberant dashing

The minstrel drank a joyous draught,
And all the neighbours shared his glee:
What boundless bliss must he have quaffed,
Whose voice could set the fountain free!






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