John Greenleaf Whittier (1807–1892). The Poetical Works in Four Volumes. 1892.
Poems of NatureThe River Path
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The tangled bank below was still;
No ripple from the water’s hem.
We felt the falling of the dew;
The wooded hills shut out the sun.
We saw the hill-tops glorified,—
A dream of day without its glare.
With them the sunset’s rosy bloom;
The river rolled in shade between.
We gazed upon those hills of God,
We spake not, but our thought was one.
Beckoned our dear ones gone before;
The voices lost to mortal ear!
The hills swung open to the light;
A long, slant splendor downward flowed.
It bridged the shaded stream with gold;
The shadowy with the sunlit side!
The river dark, with mortal fear,
O Father! let Thy light break through!
So bridge with faith the sunless tide!
On Thy eternal hills look forth;
The dear ones whom we loved below!”