Contented River
- mrymntcpw
- Nov 2
- 1 min read
For over twenty years, Rett and I have traveled annually to Slippery Rock, PA to join dear friends at the invitation of Mary Anne and Stu at "The Cabin" on the Slippery Rock River. I have developed a close companionship with this turn of the river and the following poem captures my feelings about this special place.
The Housatonic at Stockbridge

Contented river! In thy dreamy realm
The cloudy willow and the plumy elm:
Thou beautiful!
From ev’ry dreamy hill
what eye but wanders with thee at thy will,
Contented river!
And yet over-shy
To mask thy beauty from the eager eye;
Hast thou a thought to hide from field and town?
In some deep current of the sunlit brown
Ah! there’s a restive ripple,
And the swift red leaves
September’s firstlings faster drift;
Wouldst thou away, dear stream?
Come, whisper near!
I also of much resting have a fear:
Let me tomorrow thy companion be,
By fall and shallow to the adventurous sea!
-Robert Underwood Johnson
In conclusion, I offer you a performance by Gerald Finley and Julius Drake of Charles Ives' setting of the poem. Click on the link below.
CPW