The River and the Hill
Henry Kendall 1839 (Australia) – 1882 (Sydney)
And they shook their sweetness out in their sleep
On the brink of that beautiful stream,
But it wandered along with a wearisome song
Like a lover that walks in a dream:
So the roses blew
When the winds went through,
In the moonlight so white and still;
But the river it beat
All night at the feet
Of a cold and flinty hill -
Of a hard and senseless hill!
I said, "We have often showered our loves
Upon something as dry as the dust;
And the faith that is crost, and the hearts that are lost -
Oh! how can we wittingly trust?
Like the stream which flows,
And wails as it goes.
Through the moonlight so white and still,
To beat and to beat
All night at the feet
Of a cold and flinty hill -
Of a hard and senseless hill?
"River, I stay where the sweet roses blow,
And drink of their pleasant perfumes!
Oh, why do you moan, in this wide world alone,
When so much affection here blooms?
The winds wax faint,
And the moon like a saint
Glides over the woodlands so white and still!
But you beat and you beat
All night at the feet
Of that cold and flinty hill -
Of that hard and senseless hill!"
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:05 min read
- 38 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | xaxabbcdDCC xexeffcdDCC xgxghhcdDcc |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,094 |
Words | 220 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 11, 11, 11 |
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"The River and the Hill" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 7 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/17595/the-river-and-the-hill>.
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