 | The Complete Works of James Whitcomb Riley |  |
712
LAST NIGHT—AND THIS
Last night—how deep the darkness was!
And well I knew its depths, because
I waded it from shore to shore,
Thinking to reach the light no more.
And well I knew its depths, because
I waded it from shore to shore,
Thinking to reach the light no more.
She would not even touch my hand.—
The winds rose and the cedars fanned
The moon out, and the stars fled back
In heaven and hid—and all was black!
The winds rose and the cedars fanned
The moon out, and the stars fled back
In heaven and hid—and all was black!
But ah! To-night a summons came,
Signed with a tear-drop for a name,—
For as I wondering kissed it, lo,
A line beneath it told me so.
Signed with a tear-drop for a name,—
For as I wondering kissed it, lo,
A line beneath it told me so.
And now—the moon hangs over me
A disk of dazzling brilliancy,
And every star-tip stabs my sight
With splintered glitterings of light!
A disk of dazzling brilliancy,
And every star-tip stabs my sight
With splintered glitterings of light!
| The Complete Works of James Whitcomb Riley | |