The River

O flowing River, soft and bright, You carry tales of land and time, Through every twist, through day and night, In you, the essence of a rhyme.

You sing of mountains, hills, and plains, Of every joy that nature makes, As every ripple softly wanes, A dance that flows, and never breaks.

So let my heart be like the stream, With courage flowing ever true, Through valleys deep, to heights that gleam, With every breath, life sings anew.

• Mary Elizabeth Coleridge