O mountain Stream! the Shepherd and his Cot
Are privileged Inmates of deep solitude;
Nor would the nicest Anchorite exclude
A field or two of brighter green, or plot
Of tillage-ground, that seemeth like a spot
Of stationary sunshine:–thou hast viewed
These only, Duddon! with their paths renewed
By fits and starts, yet this contents thee not.
Thee hath some awful Spirit impelled to leave,
Utterly to desert, the haunts of men,
Though simple thy companions were and few;
And through this wilderness a passage cleave
Attended but by thy own voice, save when
The clouds and fowls of the air thy way pursue!
Read all of William Wordsworth's poems · About William Wordsworth
More by William Wordsworth
- The River Duddon - A Series Of Sonnets, 1820. - XV - From This Deep Chasm, Where Quivering Sunbeams Play
- The River Duddon - A Series Of Sonnets, 1820. - XVI - American Tradition
- The River Duddon - A Series Of Sonnets, 1820. - XVII - A Dark Plume Fetch Me From Yon Blasted Yew
- The River Duddon - A Series Of Sonnets, 1820. - XVIII - Seathwaite Chapel
- The River Duddon - A Series Of Sonnets, 1820. - XIX - Tributary Stream
Write poetry? Submit your poem to Poetry Catalog