Pebbles and Shells (Hawkes collection)/Morning on the River

by Clarence Hawkes

MORNING ON THE RIVER

'Tis morning on the river broad and deep,
 The fair Connecticut so dear to me,
That through the Hadley meadows slow doth creep,
 Upon its journey to the distant sea,
A silver mist like to a fleecy cloud
 Is floating where the fair-faced lilies hide,
And to its verdant bank the mountains crowd
To view their grandeur in the sleeping tide.

Now morning sunlight breaks upon the mist,
 Faint seen at first but ever growing clear,
 Like to the hidden smile behind a tear,
Until the tender beams have gently kissed
 Away each trace of tears from Nature's eyes
 And left her free to smile through cloudless skies.