 | Poems and Romances |  |
219
AFTER DARK.
When the trail of the parting sunset
Has swept the air away,
And the trees on the hill-tops shiver
In the breath of the ghost of day;
Has swept the air away,
And the trees on the hill-tops shiver
In the breath of the ghost of day;
We thrill with the rapture of spirits,
Who are always hovering there;
But we feel their presence only
In the awful twilight air.
Who are always hovering there;
But we feel their presence only
In the awful twilight air.
We seem to be driven and lifted
By longings without a name,
Till the dew falls heavy upon them,
And they vanish as they came.
By longings without a name,
Till the dew falls heavy upon them,
And they vanish as they came.
220
They vanish; the night and the darkness
Prevail and increase and abound,
Dropping down like a film from the stars,
Steaming up like a mist from the ground;
Prevail and increase and abound,
Dropping down like a film from the stars,
Steaming up like a mist from the ground;
And we move about in the shadow
Of a fruitful brooding fear,
Till over the yellowing woodlands
The harvest moon shines clear,
Of a fruitful brooding fear,
Till over the yellowing woodlands
The harvest moon shines clear,
And she washes away the darkness
With her tender and meaningless light,
To guide wanderers out of the terrors
And the mysteries of the night.
With her tender and meaningless light,
To guide wanderers out of the terrors
And the mysteries of the night.
At home, by her light where we left them,
Before we were lured away,
We find our true selves, and to-morrow
Is barren, like yesterday.
Before we were lured away,
We find our true selves, and to-morrow
Is barren, like yesterday.
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