When I was a boy, I had a mind to live, And I used to take pleasure In placing a little fish, In shallow water, In the sun-lit strewn Little pool, And curving around it, Gently between the rocks Prayed a plaintive prayer for the fish. I loved it, Perchance in the truth of my heart, That I might possess What I did not grasp, And rejoice in the Painted turtles That came at my feet.

And fell to watching the White Egret, Solitary and in the tree,a shadow moved, And as its talons drew The color from the plover’s stone, It blessed the water In shimmering shades of Lazuli and emerald. There soft waters, Rock-heavy green, Looking down on the lilies That nibbled at the light.

• Henry David Thoreau