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Classic and Contemporary Poetry


EARLY NIGHT by RICHARD EUGENE BURTON

First Line: THE DAY WAS DEAD, WITH REQUIEMS OF THE WIND
Last Line: THAT SHINES FOR LOVERS, WHERESOE'ER THEY ARE.
Subject(s): EARTH; FEAR; MOON; NIGHT; STARS; WINTER; WORLD; BEDTIME;

THE day was dead, with requiems of the wind;
Black grew the sunset hills against a flush
Of cold, clear yellow, and the air was lush
With scents the sunny noon had left behind.
Day's homeliest sights turned mystical, refined
Within the half-light. Solemn, slow, night's hush
Came on, soft thridden where a hidden thrush
Vented dim notes that spake a dreamful mind.

A sense of loneliness fell on the earth,
The sky seemed tranced in meditation, rest,
Or brooded fears of winter and his dearth;
A slender moon stole out upon the west,
A sickle keen that reaped the single star
That shines for lovers, wheresoe'er they are.



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