 | Joaquin Miller's Poems |  |
“She turn'd from the door and down to the river,
And mirror'd her face in the whimsical tide,
Then threw back her hair as one throwing a quiver,
As an Indian throws it back far from his side
And free from his hands, swinging fast to the shoulder
When rushing to battle; and, turning, she sigh'd
And shook, and shiver'd as aspens shiver.
Then a great green snake slid into the river,
Glistening green, and with eyes of fire;
Quick, double-handed she seized a boulder,
And cast it with all the fury of passion,
As with lifted head it went curving across,
Swift darting its tongue like a fierce desire,
Curving and curving, lifting higher and higher,
Bent and beautiful as a river moss;
Then, smitten, it turn'd, bent, broken and doubled
And lick'd, red-tongued, like a forked fire,
Then sank and the troubled waters bubbled
And so swept on in the old swift fashion.
And mirror'd her face in the whimsical tide,
Then threw back her hair as one throwing a quiver,
As an Indian throws it back far from his side
And free from his hands, swinging fast to the shoulder
When rushing to battle; and, turning, she sigh'd
And shook, and shiver'd as aspens shiver.
Then a great green snake slid into the river,
Glistening green, and with eyes of fire;
Quick, double-handed she seized a boulder,
And cast it with all the fury of passion,
As with lifted head it went curving across,
Swift darting its tongue like a fierce desire,
97
Bent and beautiful as a river moss;
Then, smitten, it turn'd, bent, broken and doubled
And lick'd, red-tongued, like a forked fire,
Then sank and the troubled waters bubbled
And so swept on in the old swift fashion.
| Joaquin Miller's Poems | |