Mad River Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

TRAVELLER
Why dost thou wildly rush and roar,
       &nbsp Mad River, O Mad River?
Wilt thou not pause and cease to pour
Thy hurrying, headlong waters o'er
       &nbsp This rocky shelf forever?

What secret trouble stirs thy breast?
       &nbsp Why all this fret and flurry?
Dost thou not know that what is best
In this too restless world is rest
       &nbsp From over-work and worry?

THE RIVER
What wouldst thou in these mountains seek,
       &nbsp O stranger from the city?
Is it perhaps some foolish freak
Of thine, to put the words I speak
       &nbsp Into a plaintive ditty?

TRAVELLER
Yes; I would learn of thee thy song,
       &nbsp With all its flowing number;
And in a voice as fresh and strong
As thine is, sing it all day long,
       &nbsp And hear it in my slumbers.