River Cephisus
Nicholas Michell
The prospect changes: Sunset's mellow beam
Turns into gold Cephisus' winding stream;
Tall palms, and flowers, and fruit-hung orange trees,
Give grace to earth and incense to the breeze;
So pure the wave, so cool the purple air,
E'en gods might walk, and deem Elysium there*
The river Cephisus bounds Athens on the west, while the Ilissus flows east of the city ; unlike the latter, the Cephisus is a considerable stream, and its banks are highly cultivated.
