Classic and Contemporary Poetry
NIGHT, by AUGUSTA COOPER BRISTOL First Line: I stood and watched the still, mysterious night Last Line: Fled timid o'er the distant western hills. Subject(s): Night; Bedtime | ||||||||
I stood and watched the still, mysterious Night, Steal from her shadowy caverns in the East, To work her deep enchantments on the world. Her black veil floated down the silent glens, While her dark sandalled feet, with noiseless tread, Moved to a secret harmony. Along The brows of the majestic hills, she strung Her glorious diamonds so stealthily, It never marred their dreams; and in the deep, Cool thickets of the wood, where scarce the day Could reach the dim retreat, her dusky hand Pinned on the breast of the exhaling flower, A glittering gem; while all the tangled ferns And forest lace-work, as she moved along Grew moist and shining. Who would e'er have guessed The queenly Night would deign to stoop and love A little flower! And yet, with all her stealth I saw her press her damp and cooling lip Upon the feverish bosom of a rose; At which a watchful bird poured sudden forth A love-sick song, of sweet and saddest strain. Upon the ivied rocks and rugged crags On which the ocean billows break, she hung Her sombre mantle; and the gray old sea That had been high in tumult all the day, Became so mesmerized beneath her wiles, He seemed a mere reflection of herself. The billows sank into a dimpled sleep; Only the little tide-waves glided up To kiss the blackness of the airy robe That floated o'er them. Long I stood and watched The mystic spell-like influence of Night; Till o'er the eastern hills, came up the first Faint glories of the crown that Phoebus wears. And soon, the Earth, surprised to see the work That Night had wrought, began to glow and blush, Like maidens, conscious of the glance of Love. While she -- the dark Enchantress -- like to one Who decorates her bower with all things fair, Wherewith to please her lover, but yet flees At his approaching step -- at the first gleam That lit the zenith from the day-god's eye, Fled timid o'er the distant western hills. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE BREATH OF NIGHT by RANDALL JARRELL HOODED NIGHT by ROBINSON JEFFERS NIGHT WITHOUT SLEEP by ROBINSON JEFFERS WORKING OUTSIDE AT NIGHT by DENIS JOHNSON POEM TO TAKE BACK THE NIGHT by JUNE JORDAN COOL DARK ODE by DONALD JUSTICE POEM TO BE READ AT 3 A.M by DONALD JUSTICE ROUND ABOUT MIDNIGHT by BOB KAUFMAN THE CRIME OF THE AGES; 1861 by AUGUSTA COOPER BRISTOL |
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