 | [Poems by Cary in] The Poetical Works Of Alice and Phoebe Cary |  |
THE SHADOW.
In vain the morning trims her brows,
A shadow all the sunshine shrouds;
The moon at evening vainly ploughs
Her golden furrows in the clouds.
A shadow all the sunshine shrouds;
The moon at evening vainly ploughs
Her golden furrows in the clouds.
In vain the morn her splendor hath;
The stars, in vain, their gracious cheer;
There moves a phantom on my path,
A shapeless phantom that I fear.
The stars, in vain, their gracious cheer;
There moves a phantom on my path,
A shapeless phantom that I fear.
The summer wears a weary smile,
A weary hum the woodland fills;
The dusty road looks tired the while
It climbs along the sleepy hills.
A weary hum the woodland fills;
The dusty road looks tired the while
It climbs along the sleepy hills.
Still do I strive to build my song
Against this grim aggressive gloom;
O hope, I say, be strong, be strong!
Some special, saving grace must come.
Against this grim aggressive gloom;
O hope, I say, be strong, be strong!
Some special, saving grace must come.
I sit and talk of sunnier skies,
Of flowers with healing in their gleams,
But still the shapeless shadow flies
Before me to the land of dreams.
Of flowers with healing in their gleams,
But still the shapeless shadow flies
Before me to the land of dreams.
O friends of mine, who sit dismayed
And watch, I cry, with bated breath;
Yet from their answering shrink afraid,
Lest that they name the name of Death.
And watch, I cry, with bated breath;
Yet from their answering shrink afraid,
Lest that they name the name of Death.
| [Poems by Cary in] The Poetical Works Of Alice and Phoebe Cary | |