A Ripple Song

Once red ripple came to land
In the golden sunset burning,
Lapped against a maiden's hand,
By the ford returning.

Dainty foot and gentle breast,
Here, across, be glad and rest.
"Maiden, wait," the ripplee saith;
"Wait awhile, for I am Death!"

"Where my lover calls I go,
Shame it were to treat him coldly,
'Twas a fish that circled so,
Turning over boldly."

Dainty foot and tender heart,
Wait the loaded ferry-raft.
"Wait, ah, wait!" the ripple saith;
"Maiden, wait, for I am Death!"

"When my lover calls I haste,
Dame Disdain was never wedded!"
Ripple-ripple round her waist,
Clear the current eddied.

Foolish heart and faithfut hand,
Little feet that touched no land.
Far away the ripple sped,
Ripple-ripple runnin red!

Rudyard

Rudyard Kipling was an English journalist, short-story writer, poet, and novelist. He was born in British India, which inspired much of his work. His notable works include the novels 'The Jungle Book,' 'Kim,' and the poem 'If—.' Kipling was one of the most popular writers in the United Kingdom in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1907, making him the youngest recipient of the award.

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On the crest of yonder mountain,
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Blood-stained banners, torn and tattered,
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Smoothly roll the crystal wavelets
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Oh, dim and wan came in the dawn,
And gloomy closed the day;
The killdee whistled among the weeds,
The heron flapped in the river reeds,
And the snipe piped far away.

At dawn she stood - her dark gray hood
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Floating Down The River.

My little bark glides steadily along,
    Still and unshaken as a summer dream;
    And never falls the oar into the stream,
For 'tis but morning, and the current strong;
    So let the ripples bear me as they will;
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    Sorrow lies sleeping, and Joy sends me still
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Bright shines the sun athwart the linden-trees;
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    As o'er the widening stream below steal I,
Fann'd by the same faint perfume-laden breeze;
    Bird-music answers sweetly through the air,
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    Thus go I dreaming, free from faintest care,
            Swift floating down the River.

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Song Of The Red War-Boat

Shove off from the wharf-edge! Steady!
Watch for a smooth! Give way!
If she feels the lop already
She'll stand on her head in the bay.
It's ebb,it's dusk,it's blowing,
The shoals are a mile of white,
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For we hold that in all disaster
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Raging seas have we rowed in
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We must risk the wrath of the Gods!

Over the crest she flies from,
Into its hollow she drops,
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Don't you know the sailing orders?
It is time to put to sea,
And the stranger in the harbor
Sends a boat ashore for me.

With the thunder of her canvas
Coming on the wind again,
I can hear the Shadow Boatswain
Piping to his shadow men.

Is it firelight or morning,
That red flicker on the floor?
Your good-by was braver, sweetheart,
When I sailed away before.

Think of this last lovely summer!
Love, what ails the wind to-night?
What's he saying in the chimney
Turns your berry cheek so white?

What a morning! How the sunlight
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Eyes of grey, a sodden quay,
Driving rain and falling tears,
As the steamer wears to sea
In a parting storm of cheers.
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None so true as you and I,
Sing the Lovers' Litany:
"Love like ours can never die!"

Eyes of black, a throbbing keel,
Milky foam to left and right;
Whispered converse near the wheel
In the brilliant tropic night.
Cross that rules the Southern Sky!
Stars that sweep and wheel and fly,
Hear the Lovers' Litany:
Love like ours can never die!"

Eyes of brown, a dusy plain
Split and parched with heat of June,
Flying hoof and tightened rein,
Hearts that beat the old, old tune.
Side by side the horses fly,
Frame we now the old reply
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"Love like ours ca...

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