Clear and cool, clear and cool,
By laughing shallow and dreaming pool; Cool and clear, cool and clear,By shining shingle and foaming weir; Under the crag where the ouzel sings,And the ivied wall where the church-bell rings; Undefiled for the undefiled,Play by me, bathe in me, mother and child.
Dank and foul, dank and foul,
By the smoky town in its murky cowl; Foul and dank, foul and dank,By wharf, and sewer, and slimy bank; Darker and darker the farther I go, Baser and baser the richer I grow;Who dare sport with the sin-defiled?
Shrink from me, turn from me, mother and child.
Strong and free, strong and free,
The flood-gates are open, away to the sea; Free and strong, free and strong, Cleansing my streams as I hurry alongTo the golden sands, and the leaping bar, And the taintless tide that awaits me afar, As I lose myself in the infinite main,Like a soul that has sinned and is pardoned again; Undefiled for the undefiled,Play with me, bathe in me, mother and child.
Charles Kingsley
Drawings by John Rowell
Author.-Charles Kingsley (1819-1875) was an English clergyman and novelist. His chief works are Alton Locke, Yeast, Hypatia, Westward Ho!, Two Years Ago, and The Water Babies.
General.-Source, course, outlet-innocence, sin, pardon; what comparison is here made? Do you think it"s a good one? Visualize, say, the Yarra. For what does " the infinite main " stand? The "ouzel " is the European blackbird, one of the thrushes. Note the significant things in the stanzas-the ouzel and the church-bell; the sewer and the slimy bank; the taintless tide and the infinite main. Which lines suggest the rate at which the stream is moving? What other poems about streams and rivers do you know? Make a list.
