Classic Poem

WHEREIN, TRAVELING THE RHONE TO AVIGNON, THE POET IMPLORES THE RIVER TO KISS HER HAND, SINCE IT WILL REACH LAURA BEFORE HIM

Impetuous flood, that from thine Alpine bed,
Gnawing around thee, dost thy name acquire,
Like me both night and day thou dost conspire
Where love leads me and thou'rt by nature led:
Plunge on: thy course is never surfeited
With weariness, no slumber binds thy fire;
Yet, ere the ocean claims thy final hire,
Dally where fire and sky their brightness shed
Most bravely. There our sun's most fecund beam
With brighter colours jewels thy left shore;
Perchance (vain hope!) even now she chides my stay.
Kiss then her foot, her beautiful hand: redeem
These feeble words with thy clear kisses: say
The soul strives, but the flesh can bear no more.