I stood out in the river lit only by the moon
The water glimmering like a fish
That hurries past too soon.
And, that, was when I heard him
A clear and lucid sound
A boy, at play, was laughing
My heart began to pound.
I waded to the riverbank
And climbed a grassy mound
Where, there, within the churchyard
No laughing boy was found.
That others, too, have heard him
Of that I’m often told
How every night, at midnight
The river runs so cold….