Classic Poem

Thou canst not stand, my child, beside
A glassy pool where cattle drink,
And, gazing on its moveless tide,
Feel thy life-hunger satisfied,
And thy soul bounded by one silver link.

O'er ocean's murmurs must thou brood,
Must breathe the saltness of the sea,
Must loose thy gaze to where the flood,
Feeding the deathless soul in thee,
Smiles itself forth into eternity.