THE well- br They come to it and take br Their cupful or their palmful out of it. br br The well- br Stones are around it, and an elder bush br Is there; a high rowan tree; and so br The well is marked. br br Who knows br Whence come the waters? Through what passages br Beneath? From what high tors br Where forests are? Forests dripping rain! br Branches pouring to the ground; trunks, barks, roots, br Letting the streamlets down: through the dark earth br The water flows, and in that secret flood br That's called a spring, that finds this little hollow. br Who knows br Whence come the waters that fill cup and palm? br br Sweetheart and comrade, I give you br The waters' marches and the forest's bound, br The valley-filling cloud, the trees that set br The rains beneath their roots, out of this well.