The Two Streams

 Behold the rocky wall 
That down its sloping sides 
Pours the swift rain-drops, blending, as they fall, 
In rushing river-tides! 
Yon stream, whose sources run 
Turned by a pebble's edge, 
Is Athabasca, rolling toward the sun 
Through the cleft mountain-ledge. 
The slender rill had strayed, 
But for the slanting stone, 
To evening's ocean, with the tangled braid 
Of foam-flecked Oregon. 

So from the heights of Will 
Life's parting stream descends, 
And, as a moment turns its slender rill, 
Each widening torrent bends, -- 

From the same cradle's side, 
From the same mother's knee, -- 
One to long darkness and the frozen tide, 
One to the Peaceful Sea!

Form: Lyric Comments

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Book: Diverse Voices: The Poetry of Human Rights and the Pursuit of Peace