Gently I go,
As I came softly;
I wave gently,
Farewell to the clouds of the western sky.
The golden willows by the river,
Is the bride in the setting sun;
Bright shadows in the light,
Ripples in my heart.
The floating heart growing in the sludge,
Sways greedily under the water;
In the gentle waves of Cambridge,
I would be a water plant!
That pool under the shade of elm trees,
Not springs,
Is the rainbow in the sky;
Crushed among the duckweeds,
Is the sediment of a rainbow-like dream.
Dreams? To pole a long boat,
To where the green grass is greener;
Full of starlight,
Sing in the splendour of starlight.
But I can't sing,
Quietness is my farewell music;
The summer insects are silent for me,
Silence is Cambridge tonight!
Quietly I left,
As I came in secret;
I wave my sleeves,
Take not a cloud away.