Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, ed. Poems of Places: An Anthology in 31 Volumes.
Switzerland and Austria: Vol. XVI. 1876–79.
On the River Tepl
By Rowland E. Egerton-Warburton (1804–1891)F
Thy voice, sweet river, greets me, and I trace
A smile of welcome in thy sparkling face,
When early morn invites me to thy shore;
Thy sunlit waters to fresh life restore
The fragrant flowers that gild the mountain’s base;
Lulled by the rippling music of thy race,
With tranquil happiness my heart runs o’er.
The hues of heaven are mirrored in thy stream;
O, teach me so to live that hope sublime,
From Heaven reflected, on my path may beam!
Thy ceaseless current runs to reach the sea;
Teach me in wisdom to redeem the time,
Still hastening onward to Eternity.