Under the River

John Boyle O'Reilly

1844 to 1890

Poem Image

Clear and bright, from the snowy height, 
The joyous stream to the plain descended: 
Rich sands of gold were washed and rolled 
To the turbid marsh where its pure life ended. 

From stainless snow to the moor below 
The heart like the brook has a waning mission: 
The buried dream in life's sluggish stream 
Is the golden sand of our young ambition.