A WEEK ON THE CONCORD AND MERRIMACK RIVERS

Henry David Thoreau

I sailed up a river with a pleasant wind,New lands, new people, and new thoughts to find;Many fair reaches and headlands appeared,And many dangers were there to be feared;
But when I remember where I have been,And the fair landscapes that I have seen,
Thou seemest the only permanent shore,The cape never rounded, nor wandered o'er.