ON THE RIVER

The faint stars wake and wonder,

Fade and find heart anew;

Above us and far under

Sphereth the watchful blue.

Silent she sits, outbending,

A wild pathetic grace,

A beauty strange, heart-rending,

Upon her hair and face.

O spirit cries that sever

The cricket's level drone!

O to give o'er endeavor

And let love have its own!

Within the mirrored bushes

There wakes a little stir;

The white-throat moves, and hushes

Her nestlings under her.

Beneath, the lustrous river,

The watchful sky o'erhead.

God, God, that Thou should'st ever

Poison thy children's bread!