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Classic and Contemporary Poetry
THE WATER-BABIES: SONG. THE TIDE RIVER, by CHARLES KINGSLEY Poet's Biography
First Line: Clear and cool, clear and cool
Last Line: Play by me, bathe in me, mother and child!
Variant Title(s): Song Of The River
Subject(s): Rivers
First Line: Clear and cool, clear and cool
Last Line: Play by me, bathe in me, mother and child!
Variant Title(s): Song Of The River
Subject(s): Rivers
CLEAR and cool, clear and cool,
By laughing shallow and dreaming pool;
Cool and clear, cool and clear,
By shining shingle and foaming weir;
Under the crag where the ouzel sings,
And the ivied wall where the church-bell rings,
Undefiled for the undefiled;
Play by me, bathe in me, mother and child!
Dank and foul, dank and foul,
By the smoky town in its murky cowl;
Foul and dank, foul and dank,
By wharf, and sewer, and slimy bank;
Darker and darker the further I go,
Baser and baser the richer I grow;
Who dare sport with the sin-defiled?
Shrink from me, turn from me, mother and child!
Strong and free, strong and free,
The flood-gates are open, away to the sea:
Free and strong, free and strong,
Cleansing my streams as I hurry along
To the golden sands and the leaping bar,
And the taintless tide that awaits me afar,
As I lose myself in the infinite main,
Like a soul that has sinned and is pardoned again,
Undefiled for the undefiled;
Play by me, bathe in me, mother and child!
Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!
Other Poems of Interest...
RIVERS INTO SEAS by LYNDA HULL
TO A WOMAN GLANCING UP FROM THE RIVER by LARRY LEVIS
TWO-RIVER LEDGER by KHALED MATTAWA
HE FINDS THE MANSION by JAMES MCMICHAEL
THE RIVERS by CLARIBEL ALEGRIA
VERMILION FLYCATCHER, SAN PEDRO RIVER, ARIZONA by MARGARET ATWOOD
THE PORCH OVER THE RIVER by WENDELL BERRY
THE RIVER BRIDGED AND FORGOT by WENDELL BERRY
A FAREWELL [TO C.E.G.] by CHARLES KINGSLEY
A ROUGH RHYME ON A ROUGH MATTER; THE ENGLISH GAME LAWS by CHARLES KINGSLEY