Classic Poem

Through a desolate dim region,
Rolls a haunted river,
Shapes and shades whose name is legion,
Vex its tide forever.
Round it loom steep promontories
Fringed with morning's ruddy glories,
In the olden day,
Now, wan and gray;
And still this sad, mysterious river
Goes sweeping, moaning on forever.

Once amid enchanted islands,
Where the May reposes,
Starred with flower-crowned highlands,
Drunk with breath of roses,
Flashed its current in the sunlight,
Sung its waters in the moonlight,
Sung to Dian,
And Orion;
Now, this sad, mysterious river,
Sweeps and moans along, forever.