Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, ed. Poems of Places: An Anthology in 31 Volumes.
England: Vols. I–IV. 1876–79. | | | | Eden, the River | | The River Eden, Cumberland | | William Wordsworth (1770–1850) |
| | | EDEN! till now thy beauty had I viewed | |
| By glimpses only, and confess with shame | |
| That verse of mine, whate’er its varying mood, | |
| Repeats but once the sound of thy sweet name: | |
| Yet fetched from Paradise that honor came, | 5 |
| Rightfully borne; for Nature gives thee flowers | |
| That have no rival among British bowers, | |
| And thy bold rocks are worthy of their fame. | |
| Measuring thy course, fair Stream! at length I pay | |
| To my life’s neighbor dues of neighborhood; | 10 |
| But I have traced thee on thy winding way | |
| With pleasure sometimes by this thought restrained, | |
| For things far off we toil, while many a good | |
| Not sought, because too near, is never gained. | | | | |
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