WHEN by the broad stream thou dost dwell, <br /> <br />Oft shallow is its sluggish flood; <br />Then, when thy fields thou tendest well, <br /> <br />It o'er them spreads its slime and mud. <br /> <br />The ships descend ere daylight wanes, <br /> <br />The prudent fisher upward goes; <br />Round reef and rock ice casts its chains, <br /> <br />And boys at will the pathway close. <br /> <br />To this attend, then, carefully, <br /> <br />And what thou wouldst, that execute! <br />Ne'er linger, ne'er o'erhasty be, <br /> <br />For time moves on with measured foot.<br /><br />Johann Wolfgang von Goethe<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/by-the-river-ii/
