Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, ed. Poems of Places: An Anthology in 31 Volumes.
France: Vols. IX–X. 1876–79.
To the River Yvette
By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807–1882)O
O darling river! like a bride,
Some dimpled, bashful, fair Lisette,
Thou goest to wed the Orge’s tide.
See and salute thee on thy way,
And with a blessing and a prayer
Ring the sweet bells of St. Forget.
Would hold thee in its fond embrace;
Thou glidest from its arms again
And hurriest on with swifter pace.
Pursuing still thine onward flight,
Thou goest as one in haste to meet
Her sole desire, her heart’s delight.
O darling stream! on balanced wings
Thy wood-birds sang the chansonnette
That here an unknown poet sings.