[NIGHT]
O NIGHT! Thou friend of Thought, of Song, of winged
Inspiration! So gentle is thy tread,
Thy hand so soft, thy look so deep, the sea
Is not so deep as thy mysterious gaze.
Revealest thou what worlds have thought in distant,
Unfathomable dream? Thou knowest wonders,
And tellest them in whispers to the dreamer.
Thou art alive with silence, gentle Night,
The silence of the Past and of the Future,
Of things untold, but not forgotten, dreams
Unreal, yet full of burning truth, and clad
In image, that they startle not our heart,
Nor wake its nerveless beating till it sounds.
In silence, wondrous Night, thou teachest what
The noisy Day would never understand:
Thou makest us descend into the mine
Yet unexplorèd of our soul, that hoards
The many destinies of thousand years
And other thousand years it wandered through.
Search in the darkness of that mine, behold!
The gold that shineth forth into thine eyes,
The treasures of those other lives that death
Transformed and left them unremembered. In
The stillness that surrounds thy search thy soul
Will show thee all its strength and weakness, all
Those errors that condemned it to another
And yet another life, to die again,
And rise again and wander, yet a stranger,
Into the changing world, but laden with
The knowledge of the past it seems to learn
And calls it history, perchance its own
Forgotten past, the very person that
It seemed to be. And now it wonders why
That person acted so and erred and wrought
Such destinies. And all the time it is
Itself that learns itself. Neglect not dreams
Nor call them worthless. Great the truths they bring,
Revealed in sights and legendary lore.
When understood they are a blessing. Learn
To understand the vision's soul, the thought
Which it conveys, the future it reveals,
The past it fetches out of yonder mine
Thy brain was far too tired or far too weak
To search. When plunged in sleep that brain that now
Is thine will listen and may learn such things
Thy soul will tell, as never book or school
Or present life will teach. Oh, blessed Night!
Spread o'er my soul thy wings and carry me
Into those worlds my brain can never reach!
Fathom not memories, but let me feel
At one with all those lights that lie upon
Thy bosom, breathing, shining there in silence.
[ROUSED]
SLUMBER not! Rest not! Dream not! Thou art called!
The blast has rung out o'er thy living grave;
The clouds that hung so low above thy head
Poured out their flame into thy soul, and yet
Left more, much more alive there than thou knewest of.
Awake! the years stand at thy gate, and knock
To call thee forth, the dead past comes to life,
And drives thee, with its flood of whirling waters,
Onward to action, not to idle dreaming.
Arise! walk on those waves, for they will bear thee.
Trust thine own strength, and tread the flakes of foam
Lightly, with wingèd feet, with wingèd soul!
And thou shalt see that gales have left untouched
The springtime in thy heart, still breaking forth
In admiration, thankfulness and love.
Yes, not even love is quenched, and still undimmed
Enthusiasm's banner waves on high above thee.
Thou fearest the world? And what then is the world?
The shadow of a cloud—no more. Thou wouldst not
Suffer it to become a stone to crush thee?
Up! Shake thy shining wings upon the Dawn,
And laugh the world to shame. 'Tis but a pageant,
A mockery; give up thy heart to life
In all its fulness—never to the world!
And though the world should crush thine heart and say
"Behold! 'tis dust and ashes!"—though it scatter
Those ashes to the winds—yet art thou still
Pure and unconquerable, O my heart!
Thou art of those to whom an open foe
Is but a friend disguised; to whom each blow
Serves as a force to send thee ever higher,
Far above yawning gulf and raging whirlpool.
O heart of mine, be strong! Doubt not, for doubt
Was ever the one deadly foe, whose toils
Might strangle thee. Up! fight that monster, trample
Its venom under foot. The hour has come
For thee to step forth, young again and free,
A new Sir Galahad, brave, pure and strong,
Around whom angels hover as he stretches
His spotless shield to meet the early rays
Of Heaven's bright, cloudless, joyous Morning-sun!