Three California Writers:

The Sacramento River
by Alfred C. Gillis

Edited by: Cindy Beck

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THE SACRAMENTO RIVER

Flow on, O winding river, flow,
Through the canyon deep below.
Where the willows bend and lean
In graceful beauty to the stream,
And thy soft sweet waters flow
To the sunny vale below,
Where the grasses fringe thy side
And whisper softly to thy tide.

I love to watch thy waters sweep
In majestic beauty to the deep;
To hear thy soft and gentle song
As thy waters steal along.
From the mountains crowned with snow,
She cuts her rocky way below,
While from her banks the stately pine
Bravely guards the stream divine.

Here the wild deer come to drink
On the green and grassy brink,
And the tall firs bend and lean
And cast their shadows on the stream.
The canoe long has left thy shore,
Left thy tide for evermore,
Where once in stillness it did glide
On thy deep and moving tide.

Onward through the valley free,
Surging toward the singing sea,
Whispering softly to the strand,
Rolling o’er its golden sand.
Alas, the bay, extended wide,
Anxious to embrace thy tide,
Where at last, thy waters lost,
On the ocean to be tossed.

1. The Sacramento River is the longest river of Calif., c. 380 miles long, rising near Mt. Shasta in northern California, and flowing generally southwest to Suisun Bay, an arm of San Francisco Bay, where it forms a large delta with the San Joaquin River. Its chief tributaries are the Pit, Feather, McCloud, and American rivers.

Three California Writers:

The Sacramento River by Alfred C. Gillis

Edited by: Cindy Beck

THE SACRAMENTO RIVER

The Sacramento River
by Alfred C. Gillis