THE RIVER'S SONG.

Otago Witness, Issue 1947, 18 June 1891, Page 37

THE RIVER'S SONG.

The restless, rippling river Ha* sung the etlll night long, Whither away, oh 1 whither ? The harden of its song. Gliding down thashallow fordtfy Bippllng 'cross stdny bars ; High o'erhead the yellow moon And dear enoiroling stars. Laving dusky forests sigh, Murmuring loving words, Ferns stoop low caressing nigh, All Nature sweet accords. Stirr'd by gentle, zephyr wave, Dark pine trees, sombrous green, Wtilsp'ringlow to clinging bines Bright moonbeams stray between, " Whither away ; oh, whither? I come from mountain,home. Oh, peaoeful night, come hither; List to my plaintive moan. Bising high in mountain range, Far from men'i haunting feet, Snowy peaks fantastic, strange, Around my fountain meet. " Brooding mists hang o'er my bed, When lying calm>gd mild, Gath'rlng strength as* tears they shed, Grew, restless, wilful, wild. " Ob, there would no longer stay, Ban trickling down a rook; ' Leaping, hast'ning fast away. The mountain's silence broke. •• Down. dark ravines rooky, deep, And through, deaae wooded glens, In caioades, silvery leap ?rom 'neath o'erhanging ferns, " Whither, oh ; whither away ? As daily larger growing, Winding round, I fain would stay, But reatleie still"keep flowing. " Away whither ; oh, whither ? I downward course pursue, Now grown a goodly river, In vallej a fair to view. " Going on, knowiDg not where, My journey's end will-reach, .Onward, still onward ever Fair Bature patience teapb." This song of the restless river Whisp'ring to weary ears, Whither away ; oh, whither ? In mingled hope and fears. Whither away ; oh, whither ? Your toil will toon be done, You go to meet> blue ocean At riling of the sun. . White crested waves are calling With low murmuring tones, " Hltheri come hither, flowing, Our bosom is your home. " Besting in heaving ocean, Mid wildest storm, and calms, And swelling ceaseless motion To sleep, rooked in our arms. " You'll wake in brightest sunshine, And rising upward, soar. To join dark broodiDg.mist clouds, Oome leaping down. once more." Whither away; oh, whither? Our lives flow on as well, Some like fair restless river That sings in boikydell. Others like mountain torrents. Bushing with leaps and bounds ; gome still like quiet waters For deads, not words renowned. Others, noisy babbling brooks Fret fuming o'er the stones ; Some flow calm in hidden nooks, In peaoeful monotone. Some in arid deserts .wjute, Making oases "green, ' Others bitter to the taste Tho" pure and sweet they seem. Some magic rivers, flow, With currents deep and wide, Turning mill wheels swiftly -round, Their grist with men abide. Like sluggish waters creeping, Some gather mud and slime, Foul weeds their currents choking, Bank growth , of jSins.and crime. - Whither away ; oh, whitheri? We each have work to do ; God help our strength and courage • That failures may be few. And when life's journey's ended, la, Death's Lethean Sea, We may wake In heaven's sunshine, Bright spirits, pure and free. — 8.J.0. Ahaura, June 8.

THE SOWING OF TIJE WIND. " Who'll oome a-sowiag, a-so-wing. it-sowing ? Who'll oome a-sowing'the merry west wind ? The inow-drlft's going, the spring flood's flowli 2 ; The Bummer's before, and the winter behind." " Oh we'll go a-sowing, n-aowing a-sowing,— Care is a greybeard that died ia the snow t The fair river's flowing, with oars for the rowing; Down stream's easy,— back we'll never got " " Who'll go a-reaplng, a-reaping, a-reaping ? ' , The cyolone's whirling b'sf ore Jind^bebJnd; The* sand : d'tiftß are heaping, tha $sherf6lk weeping"; This Is the crop of the merry west-wind." " Our faces sadden ; tbe skyis leaden ; < The pulp was sweet, but bitter is the rind ; The earth is wooden; fch'e, lightnings redden — , -Oh we cannot face the reaping of the merry west wind 1 "

— Jsssra Maokat.

"Haiaolifife, June 8.