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Classic and Contemporary Poetry


DRINKING FROM A STREAM by LOA HAHL

First Line: WHEN FRAGRANT SUMMER SNOW
Last Line: YOUR ARDENT THIRST IS COOLED!
Subject(s): THIRST;

When fragrant summer snow
Lies in drifts upon the grass,
And strident insect voices
Fall silent as you pass;
To stretch yourself full-length
Beside a muted stream,
Where errant currents glide
As vaguely as a dream; --
There to lie quiescent
Beneath the wild-rose shade
And watch a doughty dip-chick
Drop a curtsy, unafraid;
To watch the rosy petals
Drip down from overhead
And netted shadows flicker
Upon the river's bed;
The while you steep your senses
In the breath of panting earth,
In the chuckling of the waters
With their sly, aquatic mirth, --
You drink of liquid crystal
From palms where it is pooled ...
To exquisite satiety
Your ardent thirst is cooled!



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