Bliss Carman, et al., eds. The World’s Best Poetry.
Volume V. Nature. 1904. | | | | IV. Inland Waters: Highlands | | Song of the River | | Charles Kingsley (1819–1875) |
| | | 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, | 5 |
| 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; | 10 |
| 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? | 15 |
| 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 | 20 |
| 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; | 25 |
| Play by me, bathe in me, mother and child! | | | | |
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