Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, AT POOL POINT, by EFFIE WALLER SMITH


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

AT POOL POINT, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Pool point is where the cumberland
Last Line: "forgive, forgive thy child."
Subject(s): Forgiveness; Grief; Rivers; Clemency; Sorrow; Sadness


Pool Point is where the Cumberland
Causes an awkward bend
In Sandy river as it does
Its northward journey wend.

'Tis called Pool Point because there lies
Just at its base a pool
Made by the Sandy river; and
It sure is beautiful.

This spreading pool is almost round;
And it is always cool;
Its bosom almost waveless is;
Its depth is wonderful.

Is Pool Point rocky? I should say!
'Tis almost wholly rock,
Save a bit of clayey soil where grows
A growth of scrawny oak.

Once on this rocky point I stood
My sun-hat on my head
And threw a stone into its depths
To watch the circles spread.

The sound was echoed from the hills,
Then slowly died away;
The circles vanished one by one
And left no trace where they

Had been a little while before:
Still mused I standing on
That rugged, overhanging ledge
Of rudely pictured stone.

"How easy it would be" I mused
"To follow where I threw
That tiny stone and peacef'ly sleep
Hidden away from view.

And would my friends forget me
When there awhile I've lain?
Ah, yes, for Time's a balm for grief,
For sorrow and for pain."

I turned my back towards the pool,
And walked with rapid pace
Across the stony, woodland path
Back to my boarding place.

"Forgive me, Father," thus I prayed,
"Forgive thy erring child,
Who looking at thy handiwork
Among these mountains wild;

"Who gazing at yon deep, wide pool
Of waveless water mild
Should suicidal thoughts conceive.
Forgive, forgive thy child."





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