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Poetry Library

— John Milton

Say, Heavenly Muse, shall not thy sacred vein 15

Afford a present to the Infant God?

Hast thou no verse, no hymn, or solemn strain,

To welcome him to this his new abode,

…

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noun

A way or means of approaching or entering; an entrance; a passage.

“Writers often choose access when discussing complex ideas.”

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TO THE RIVER CHARLES.

40 lines
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow·1807–1882·Romanticism
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iver! that in silence windestThrough the meadows, bright and free,Till at length thy rest thou findestIn the bosom of the sea! Four long years of mingled feeling,Half in rest, and half in strife,I have seen thy waters stealingOnward, like the stream of life. Thou hast taught me, Silent River!Many a lesson, deep and long;Thou hast been a generous giver;I can give thee but a song. Oft in sadness and in illness,I have watched thy current glide,Till the beauty of its stillnessOverflowed me, like a tide. And in better hours and brighter,When I saw thy waters gleam,I have felt my heart beat lighter,And leap onward with thy stream. Not for this alone I love thee,Nor because thy waves of blueFrom celestial seas above theeTake their own celestial hue. Where yon shadowy woodlands hide thee,And thy waters disappear,Friends I love have dwelt beside thee,And have made thy margin dear. More than this;--thy name reminds meOf three friends, all true and tried;And that name, like magic, binds meCloser, closer to thy side. Friends my soul with joy remembers!How like quivering flames they start,When I fan the living embersOn the hearth-stone of my heart! 'T is for this, thou Silent River!That my spirit leans to thee;Thou hast been a generous giver,Take this idle song from me.
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