"The Stream" by George Copway
From which thy waters flow;
But different far the land of green
To which from thence they go,—
For many a long, long mile they speed,
Through fairer, brighter lands,
Tranquil and free like a noble steed
Unchecked by rider's hands;
From their far source to where they pour
Into bright Superior's side,
All is wild nature on thy shore,—
Man hath not curbed thy tide;—
But on thou flowest in thy might
Untainted as when God
First called thee sparkling unto light,
At his creative nod.
The vale through which thy waters sweep,—
The forest shade, tho craggy steep,—
The cataract whose thunder fills
The echoes of an hundred hills,
The deep ravine, the precious mine,
Whose ores beneath thy current shine,
Such is the path thy waters take,
Ere lost within the Ocean Lake.
O! often on thy limpid stream,
Hid from the noontide's sultry beam,
By trees, whose giant branches cast
A deep shade o'er me as I passed,
Hath my light bark now danced along
To music of some carolled song,—
Or floating, like the lightest bird,
It only with the current stirred,
While I have passed hour after hour,
Beneath the scene's enchanting power,—
The sweetest perfume on the air
From thousand wild flowers growing there,—
And colors of the brightest hue
On every side that met the view;
The wild rose, with its sweets beguiling
Along the shore so brightly smiling,
Whose petals falling on the wave,
Their own hue to the current gave;—
The mellow light of different dyes
Which came from forest shaded skies;—
The stillness, over all that dwelt,
So deep it could almost be felt;—
All these have held me many a day
A willing captive to their sway.
O, who that has a heart to feel,
Would barter one such hour as this,
For all the gay world can reveal,
Or all it ever knew of bliss!
Pleasures! in vain the precious gem
Te seek in fashion's heartless throng,—
Ask those who seek there, ask them
Who sought the floating phantom long.
There's not a joy that throng can give,
Which does not cost a pang more deep;
There's not a pleasure it bids live,
But lulls some virtue into sleep.