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1864–1900

THE BATHER.

Richard Hovey

I saw him go down to the water to bathe; He stood naked upon the bank. His legs rose with the spring and curve of young birches; The hollow of his back caught the blue shadows:

With his head thrown up to the lips of the wind; And the curls of his forehead astir with the wind. I would that I were a man, they are so beautiful; Their bodies are like the bows of the Indians;

They have the spring and the grace of bows of hickory.

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THE BATHER. · Richard Hovey · Poetry Cove