(I)

I come from haunts of coot and hem;

I make a sudden sally

And sparkle out among the fern,

To bicker down a valley.

Coming down from the habitat of water birds like coot and herons, the brook
emerges suddenly from a high plateau and falls and flows down a valley. making a
lot of noise as it does so. it moves on through the fem that grows along its banks
and reflects the sunlight thus creating a dazzling effect.

II

By thirty hills I hurry down,

Or slip between the ridges,

By twenty thorpes, a little town,

And half a hundred bridges .

The brook's journey being a long and a tedious one, it passes by many kills, ridges,
villages and a number of bridges with great speed. No obstruction is capable of
stopping it.

III

Till last by Philip's farm I flow

To join the brimming river,

For men may come and men may go,

But I go on for ever.

At long last, it reaches the plains. However its journey continues as it moves on
towards its ultimate goal of merging into the river overflowing with water.
Generations after generations of human beings are born and they perish but the
brook's incessant journey is never ending.
I chatter over stony ways,

In little sharps and trebles,

I bubble into eddying bays,

I babble on the pebbles.

As the brook moves, its swift current strikes against the pebbles and stones under
it producing a tremendous noise. Thus the brook seems to be 'talking' as it moves.
Also its rapid spiral movement creates spirals of bubbles and it sounds very
cheerful.

(IV)

I chatter over stony ways,

In little sharps and trebles,

I bubble into eddying bays,

I babble on the pebbles.

As the brook moves, its swift current strikes against the pebbles and stones under
it producing a tremendous noise. Thus the brook seems to be 'talking' as it moves.
Also its rapid spiral movement creates spirals of bubbles and it sounds very
cheerful.

(V)

With many a curve my banks I fret

By many a field and fallow,

And many a fairy foreland set

With willow-weed and mallow.

The brook rubs against its banks angrily and flows by cultivated and uncultivated
pieces of land. it also flows by the land extending into the sea providing home and
breeding ground to willows and mallows.

(VI)
I chatter, chatter, as I flow

To join the brimming river,

For men may come and men may go,

But I go on for ever.

The brookflows noisily with a single track mind to become one with the river
yellowing with water. The human if being short-lived, generation after generation
keeps on appearing and disappearing but the brook moves on eternally.

(VII)

I wind about, and in and out,

With here a blossom sailing,

And here and there a lusty trout,

And here and there a grayling,

The brook moves in a curved and winding manner and is full of life in the sense
that it is lively and sprightly in its movement It carries with it the blossoms that
happen to fall into it from the trees growing along its banks, and fish of many
varieties.

(VIII)

And here and there a foamy flake

Upon me, as I travel

With many a silvery waterbreak

Above the golden gravel,

Clusters of foam float over the brook's surface as it goes advancing in its journey.
As it passes over beds of sand with a tinge of golden colour, the brook sparkles like
silver as its smooth flow is obstructed.

(IX)
And draw them all along, and flow
To Join the brimming river
For men may come and men may go,
But I go on for ever.

The brook carries along whatever comes its way because it moves on with a
single track mind to become a part of the river in spate. Unlike human
beings, it has an eternal life.
(X)

I steal by lawns and grassy plots,

I slide by hazel covers
I move the sweet forget-me-nots
That grow for happy lovers.

Very quietly and stealthily, the brook flows through grassy lawns and plots
and .% gracefully moves on by clusters of hazel nut trees. As it advinces it
sways th, forget-me-not plants and flowers that give joy to the lovers.'

(XI)
I slip, I slide, I gloom, I glance,
Among my skimming swallows;
I make the netted sunbeam dance
Against my sandy shallows.

Moving on quietly and gracefully, the brook sometimes looks gloomy and
sometimes bright and cheerful. Swallows fish out their food from its waters
and the sunbeams dance over its surface while the sandy bed peeps through
its shallow waters.
(XII)

I murmur under moon and stars

In brambly wildernesses;
I linger by my shingly bars;
I loiter round my cresses;

Here the brook slows down and its splashy noise changes into a gentle
murmur. I t makes a whispering sound as it flows in the moon and star
light, through the thorny bushes growing in deserted places. It moves on
very leisurely as it flows over bars of sand and pebbles. I glows around
the plants that grow in its way.
(XII)

I murmur under moon and stars

In brambly wildernesses;
I linger by my shingly bars;
I loiter round my cresses;
Here the brook slows down and its splashy noise changes into a gentle
murmur. I t makes a whispering sound as it flows in the moon and star
light, through the thorny bushes growing in deserted places. It moves on
very leisurely as it flows over bars of sand and pebbles. I glows around
the plants that grow in its way.
(XIII)

And out again I curve and flow

To join the brimming river,
For men may come and men may go,
But I go on for ever.

Finding its way out round the plants, the brookflows on to unite with the
overflowing river. Generations of men are born and perish but the brook's
life . never comes to an end. It on and on.