Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, ed. Poems of Places: An Anthology in 31 Volumes.
Germany: Vols. XVII–XVIII. 1876–79.

Neckar, the River

To the River Neckar

By James Cochrane

HOW oft thy margent green do I recall,

Sweet stream! where we at eve were wont to stray,

Gathering the wild pinks at our feet that lay

On knoll and meadow, oversprinkling all,—

Oft sitting down to listen to the fall

Of thy pure waters as they gurgling leapt

From pool to pool, or ’mong the sedges tall,

With whispers soft as woman’s, slowly crept.

There is a quiet beauty in thy banks

That never tires the mind: pleasing the more

To us, late wandering mid the Alpine ranks,

Rearing to heaven their rugged summits hoar;

Burdening the soul: a beauty, calm, not gay,

As friendship is to love, as eve to day.