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     A summer river where the game bass leap,
     A stream that mirrors trees and hills and sky,
     A river with a song the heart can keep
     Forever as the years go gliding by;
     This is a thing of beauty unsurpassed,
     This is a work of art which God has made,
     A memory to stay...a dream to last...
     A picture of dame nature on parade.
 
     I like each rocky crag within this land,
     Ridge-rooted pines which rise to kiss the sky;
     Sure every hill-bred soul will understand
     And revel in the scenes which bless the eye.
     I like each hill and dale, each quiet cove
     And laughing little creeks which ramble down
     To join the river by a neat green grove...
     As happy as an old-time circus clown.

     Yes, there are summer scenes beyond compare
     Within these West Virginia hills we love
     And all have outdoor beauty rich and rare
     And mountain skies of blue which bend above.
     So when I yearn for peace of heart and mind,
     For carefree days, for happiness sublime
     I know that they are easy things to find
     Along a summer river any time.

					

Source: Roy Lee Harmon, Wild Sweet Notes: Fifty Years of West Virginia Poetry, 1950-1999 2000.