O brook that fell too soon into the sea, That never mingled with the broader streams, To roll through mighty cities, where the steams Of vice and woe obscure the pageantry; Nor passed where glorious summits, standing free, Catch the full measure of the midday gleams; Nor crossed the Gorges of the Evil Dreams, And Valley of the Hopes that May not Be: We went beside it for a little while, Watching its play, the ripple of its smile, Its babble as it wandered on its way; And lo, its course was run, and it was lost, As quickly as an evanescent frost, In Death's dim Ocean that before us lay. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...LEAVES OF A MAGAZINE by MARIANNE MOORE THE FLOWERS OF THE FOREST by ALISON RUTHERFORD GULLS by WILLIAM CARLOS WILLIAMS BAYARD TAYLOR by THOMAS BAILEY ALDRICH THE UNFORGIVEN by THOMAS BAILEY ALDRICH LINCOLN'S BIRTHDAY by JOHN KENDRICK BANGS |