Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE STARS, by FELICIA DOROTHEA HEMANS


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE STARS, by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: No cloud obscures the summer sky
Last Line: Is still, in mercy, turned on thee.
Alternate Author Name(s): Browne, Felicia Dorothea
Subject(s): Stars


No cloud obscures the summer sky,
The moon in brightness walks on high,
And, set in azure, every Star
Shines, a pure gem of heaven, afar!

Child of the earth! oh! lift thy glance
To you bright firmament's expanse;
The glories of its realm explore,
And gaze, and wonder, and adore!

Doth it not speak to every sense
The marvels of Omnipotence?
Seest thou not there the Almighty name
Inscribed in characters of flame?

Count o'er those lamps of quenchless light,
That sparkle through the shades of night;
Behold them! -- can a mortal boast
To number that celestial host?

Mark well each little Star, whose rays
In distant splendour meet thy gaze;
Each is a world, by Him sustained,
Who from eternity hath reigned.

Each, kindled not for earth alone,
Hath circling planets of its own,
And beings, whose existence springs
From Him, the all-powerful King of kings.

Haply, those glorious beings know
No stain of guilt, nor tear of woe;
But raising still the adoring voice,
For ever in their God rejoice.

What then art thou, oh! child of clay!
Amid creation's grandeur, say?
E'en as an insect on the breeze,
E'en as a dew-drop lost in seas!

Yet fear thou not! -- the sovereign hand,
Which spread the ocean and the land,
And hung the rolling spheres in air,
Hath, e'en for thee, a Father's care!

Be thou at peace! the all-seeing eye,
Pervading earth, and air, and sky,
The searching glance which none may flee,
Is still, in mercy, turned on thee.





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