 | The Vision of Prophecy and Other Poems |  |
121
MOONLIGHT.
How fair are now the heavenly places!
How lovely in their purity they are!—
The moon is wandering up their azure spaces,
Companioned by a single peerless star.
How lovely in their purity they are!—
The moon is wandering up their azure spaces,
Companioned by a single peerless star.
The hills are still and clear; the brightness
Slants downward, tremulous, upon the trees;
One cloud,—a snowy island,—sees its whiteness
Shining beneath it in the charmèd seas.
Slants downward, tremulous, upon the trees;
One cloud,—a snowy island,—sees its whiteness
Shining beneath it in the charmèd seas.
O Beauty, sweet and spirit-thrilling!
Thy temple is the star-blue air of night;
Else why this trance of nature,—this fulfilling
Of tranquil thought, and mystery of delight!
Thy temple is the star-blue air of night;
Else why this trance of nature,—this fulfilling
Of tranquil thought, and mystery of delight!
A luminous element of gladness
Now vaults our sphere of being, welkin-wise;
And should a thought be born akin to sadness,
It cloud-like takes its colour from its skies.
Now vaults our sphere of being, welkin-wise;
And should a thought be born akin to sadness,
It cloud-like takes its colour from its skies.
122
As light doth fill the crystal chalice
Of air, the Beautiful the soul doth fill;
This is the spell that opens nature's palace,
And makes us free to wander where we will.
Of air, the Beautiful the soul doth fill;
This is the spell that opens nature's palace,
And makes us free to wander where we will.
Peace has her dwelling in the borders
Of night,—all turbulence dies with the day;
Her eye has power to soothe the mind's disorders,
And all its tides heave gentlier at her sway.
Of night,—all turbulence dies with the day;
Her eye has power to soothe the mind's disorders,
And all its tides heave gentlier at her sway.
If we could only keep and cherish
Such thoughts as then assuage our inward strife!
But soon, how soon! the fairest visions perish
Before the rough realities of life.
Such thoughts as then assuage our inward strife!
But soon, how soon! the fairest visions perish
Before the rough realities of life.
With the refining sense of beauty
No power to purify the heart is given,—
This dwells apart with Faith, which hallows duty,
And treads Time's highway with its eye on Heaven.
No power to purify the heart is given,—
This dwells apart with Faith, which hallows duty,
And treads Time's highway with its eye on Heaven.
| The Vision of Prophecy and Other Poems | |