The Collected Songs of Charles Mackay With Illustrations by John Gilbert |
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| I. |
| II. |
| III. |
| IV. |
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| X. |
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| XII. |
THE RAPID STREAM. |
 | The Collected Songs of Charles Mackay |  |
244
THE RAPID STREAM.
I
O Streamlet! swiftly flowing,Down through the corn-fields going,
Stay thy course with me.
For us the skylarks sing,
For us awakes the Spring;
There's time to spare, the earth is fair;
Why hurry to the sea?
II
The sky is bright above thee,Silvery branches love thee,
Bending to the reeds;
No mill with busy wheel,
Or ship with ploughing keel,
With sad unrest disturbs thy breast,
Amid thy flowery meads.
III
Ambition's voice may woo thee,Glory and Gold may sue thee;
All are empty breath.
The end is still the same,
And Power, and Wealth, and Fame,
But run at last through deserts vast,
To swell the sea of Death.
245
IV
Then why, without enjoyingPleasures around us toying,
Pass our rapid day?
Our cares will come full soon,
Beneath the icy moon,
And we'll behold the ocean cold;—
Let's linger while we may!
| The Collected Songs of Charles Mackay | |