The River

I came from the sunny valleysAnd sought for the open sea,For I thought in its gray expansesMy peace would come to me.

I came at last to the oceanAnd found it wild and black,And I cried to the windless valleys,"Be kind and take me back!"

But the thirsty tide ran inland,And the salt waves drank of me,And I who was fresh as the rainfallAm bitter as the sea.