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NIGHTFALL.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


227

NIGHTFALL.

Winter and snow-drifts compass me,—
You dwell where warmth and sunshine are,—
Between, the miles stretch drearily;
O inaccessible and far!
I wonder if your memory thrills
When threatening clouds the sunset drown?
Look toward these bleak and desolate hills,
Beloved, when the night shuts down!
O winter-fettered soul! O love,
With sorrow's self forever twinned!
The cold skies threaten from above,—
The wild waves wrestle with the wind,—
While Eve unbraids her shadowy locks,
And scatters stars amid their brown,—
Think of the sea-shore and the rocks,
Beloved, when the night shuts down!
Since I am swept so utterly
Into the distance dim and far,

228

Do you forget my love and me,
As heaven forgets a banished star?
O for a whisper from your lips
My fear to crush,—my hope to crown!
Think of the harbor and the ships,
Beloved, when the night shuts down!
The lonesome sea-bird soars and sails
In devious circles, as of old,—
A ship with white wings fades and fails
Into the far heaven, gray and cold,—
And dimness now the distance fills,—
The waves grow dark, the chill skies frown,—
Look toward these bleak and desolate hills,
Beloved, when the night shuts down!