‘To the River -‘ by Edgar Allan Poe

‘To the River-‘ by Edgar Allan Poe was first published in Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane, and Minor Poems, in 1928. It was also included in a later collection The Raven and Other Poems in 1845.

To the River –

Fair river! in thy bright, clear flow
Of crystal, wandering water,
Thou art an emblem of the glow
Of beauty — the unhidden heart —
The playful maziness of art
In old Alberto’s daughter;

But when within thy wave she looks —
Which glistens then, and trembles —
Why, then, the prettiest of brooks
Her worshipper resembles;
For in my heart, as in thy stream,
Her image deeply lies —
The heart which trembles at the beam
Of her soul-searching eyes.