To My Mistress Sitting by a River’s Side
Thomas Carew
1595 to 1640
Track 1
Reconstruct the poem by dragging each line into its correct position. Your goal is to reassemble the original poem as accurately as possible. As you move the lines, you'll see whether your arrangement is correct, helping you explore the poem's flow and meaning. You can also print out the jumbled poem to cut up and reassemble in the classroom. Either way, take your time, enjoy the process, and discover how the poet's words come together to create something truly beautiful.
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Her waters from the channel's course,
Secure repose, and never dream
From the rude stream into the bay;
Whilst he runs murmuring away.
And scorns the torrent that did bring
Within these arms forever swim.
See how she strokes their sides, and craves
Be thou this eddy, and I'll make
Her headlong from her native spring.
Backward, but from the channel's brim
Thou shalt save all, and, safe from him,
There, lock'd up safe, she doth divorce
Mark how she courts the banks, whilst they
As amorously their arms display,
MARK, how yond eddy steals away
Let him to the wide ocean haste,
Smiling returns into the creek,
With thousand dimples on her cheek.
T' embrace, and clip her silver waves:
An entrance there, which they deny;
Whereat she frowns, threat'ning to fly
Now doth she with her new love play,
There lose his colour, name, and taste:
My breast thy shore, where thou shalt take
Of the quite forsaken stream;
Home to her stream, and 'gins to swim