THE Ottawa is a dark stream; The Ottawa is deep. Great hills along the Ottawa Are wrapped in endless sleep. And, where the purple waters turn To seek the valiant north, At Mattawa I found a road And on it wandered forth. The road was made for free men And fenced alone with wood; And every blossom at its edge Declared that life was good. It wound in love about the rocks And 'round and 'round the trees; It went asearch for loveliness, A vagrant with the breeze. A mile away from Mattawa The road breaks in a clearing; And near by is a whitewashed hut And fields in gold appearing. And from this place came out a maid -- A winsome maid of ten -- And I have never hope to see A fairer child again. She came along the roadway In that fair summer hour, And softer grew the pine-songs And fairer bloomed each flower. And when she passed she raised her eyes, As bluebells do at dawn, And cried, "M' sieu," and courtesied low, And then went swiftly on. My heart, that leaps not lightly now, Thrilled wildly at the word: A poem with a lovelier sound I never yet had heard. I would have clasped her to my heart -- This little woodland belle -- But all I did was blush a bit And stammer "Mademoiselle." When I went back to Mattawa And thence to Montreal, I heard, on every wandering wind, That little maiden's call. And when the empty words of men Leave faith a thing forlorn, I'll think of Mademoiselle's "M'sieu" And that fair summer morn. The Ottawa is a dark stream; The Ottawa is deep. Great hills along the Ottawa Are wrapped in endless sleep. And when the purple days return, Go, all ye weary, north, And find the road to Mattawa And on it wander forth. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...A POEM FROM BOULDER RIDGE by JAMES GALVIN SERVICE by GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON DEEP IN THE QUIET WOOD by JAMES WELDON JOHNSON DOWN BY THE CARIB SEA: 3. TEESTAY by JAMES WELDON JOHNSON FLUTE-PRIEST SONG FOR RAIN; CEREMONIAL AT THE SUN SPRING by AMY LOWELL |