 | Sursum Corda |  |
112
BEFORE THE DAYBREAK.
Before the daybreak shines a star
That in the day's full glory fades;
Too fiercely bright is the great light
That her pale-gleaming lamp upbraids.
That in the day's full glory fades;
Too fiercely bright is the great light
That her pale-gleaming lamp upbraids.
Before the daybreak sings a bird
That stills her song at morning's light;
Too loud for her is the day's stir,
The woodland's thousand-tongued delight.
That stills her song at morning's light;
Too loud for her is the day's stir,
The woodland's thousand-tongued delight.
Ah! great the honour is, to shine
A light wherein no traveller errs;
And rich the prize, to rank divine
Among the world's loud choristers.
A light wherein no traveller errs;
And rich the prize, to rank divine
Among the world's loud choristers.
113
But I would be that paler star,
And I would be that lonelier bird,
To shine with hope while hope's afar,
And sing of love when love's unheard.
And I would be that lonelier bird,
To shine with hope while hope's afar,
And sing of love when love's unheard.
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