Oh luxury! Beyond the heat 
And dust of town, with dangling feet 
Astride the rock below the dam, 
In the cool shadows where the calm 
Rests on the stream again, and all 
Is silent save the waterfall,-- 
I bait my hook and cast my line, 
And feel the best of life is mine.

No high ambition can I claim -- 
I angle not for lordly game 
Of trout, or bass, or wary bream -- 
A black perch reaches the extreme 
Of my desires; and "goggle-eyes" 
Are not a thing that I despise; 
A sunfish, or a "chub," or a "cat"-- 
A "silver-side"-- yea, even that!

In eloquent tranquility 
The waters lisp and talk to me. 
Sometimes, far out, the surface breaks, 
As some proud bass an instant shakes 
His glittering armor in the sun, 
And romping ripples, one by one, 
Come dallyiong across the space 
Where undulates my smiling face.

The river's story flowing by, 
Forever sweet to ear and eye, 
Forever tenderly begun -- 
Forever new and never done. 
Thus lulled and sheltered in a shade 
Where never feverish cares invade, 
I bait my hook and cast my line, 
And feel the best of life is mine. 

Added: on December 12th, 2005 at 10:20 AM | Viewed: 1098 times | Comments (4)

Poet: James Whitcomb Riley
Poem: At Broad Ripple

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