The Water-Fall Poem by Henry Vaughan

The Water-Fall

Rating: 3.1


1 With what deep murmurs through time's silent stealth
2 Doth thy transparent, cool, and wat'ry wealth
3 Here flowing fall,
4 And chide, and call,
5 As if his liquid, loose retinue stay'd
6 Ling'ring, and were of this steep place afraid;
7 The common pass
8 Where, clear as glass,
9 All must descend
10 Not to an end,
11 But quicken'd by this deep and rocky grave,
12 Rise to a longer course more bright and brave.

13 Dear stream! dear bank, where often I
14 Have sate and pleas'd my pensive eye,
15 Why, since each drop of thy quick store
16 Runs thither whence it flow'd before,
17 Should poor souls fear a shade or night,
18 Who came, sure, from a sea of light?
19 Or since those drops are all sent back
20 So sure to thee, that none doth lack,
21 Why should frail flesh doubt any more
22 That what God takes, he'll not restore?

23 O useful element and clear!
24 My sacred wash and cleanser here,
25 My first consigner unto those
26 Fountains of life where the Lamb goes!
27 What sublime truths and wholesome themes
28 Lodge in thy mystical deep streams!
29 Such as dull man can never find
30 Unless that Spirit lead his mind
31 Which first upon thy face did move,
32 And hatch'd all with his quick'ning love.
33 As this loud brook's incessant fall
34 In streaming rings restagnates all,
35 Which reach by course the bank, and then
36 Are no more seen, just so pass men.
37 O my invisible estate,
38 My glorious liberty, still late!
39 Thou art the channel my soul seeks,
40 Not this with cataracts and creeks.

COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Nithya 19 February 2017

A remarkable poem about rebirth. The waterfall is a metaphor for a cleanse of mind, body, and spirit as well as a source of wisdom. This brings to life the bounteousness of water and illustrates well how powerful it can be.

0 1 Reply
Sylva Portoian 25 February 2010

In that religious fandamentalist era You said what you wanted to say, 'Why should frail flesh doubt any more That what God takes, he’ll not restore? '- I continue to praise your advanced gaze and say, 'A Philosophical Poetic Stanza eternally rings its soulful bell.'

1 1 Reply
Marcy Jarvis 21 October 2005

it's clear enough.............

0 1 Reply
READ THIS POEM IN OTHER LANGUAGES
Henry Vaughan

Henry Vaughan

Brecknockshire, Wales
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