Such fruitless questions may not long beguile
Or plague the fancy ‘mid the sculptured shows
Conspicuous yet where Oroonoko flows;
There would the Indian answer with a smile
Aimed at the White Man’s ignorance the while,
Of the GREAT WATERS telling how they rose,
Covered the plains, and, wandering where they chose,
Mounted through every intricate defile,
Triumphant.–Inundation wide and deep,
O’er which his Fathers urged, to ridge and steep
Else unapproachable, their buoyant way;
And carved, on mural cliff’s undreaded side,
Sun, moon, and stars, and beast of chase or prey;
Whate’er they sought, shunned, loved, or deified!
Read all of William Wordsworth's poems · About William Wordsworth
More by William Wordsworth
- 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
- The River Duddon - A Series Of Sonnets, 1820. - XX - The Plain Of Donnerdale
- The River Duddon - A Series Of Sonnets, 1820. - XXI - Whence That Low Voice?
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