Ply the oars! away! away!

"Ply the oars! away! away!" by Henry David Thoreau

from A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers

Ply the oars! away! away!
In each dew-drop of the morning
Lies the promise of a day.

Rivers from the sunrise flow,
Springing with the dewy morn;
Voyageurs 'gainst time do row,
Idle noon nor sunset know,
Ever even with the dawn.

Since that first "Away! away!"
    Many a lengthy reach we've rowed,
Still the sparrow on the spray
Hastes to usher in the day
    With her simple stanza'd ode.

This work published before January 1, 1923 is in the public domain worldwide because the author died at least 100 years ago.