SONG OF THE STARS by DHAN GOPAL MUKERJI

Sailing unseen
On sapphire wing,
Linked together with unseen chain;
Silently swinging,
Noiselessly smiling,
Bear we the moon's far-sweeping train.
She like a queen
Of queenliest dreams,
Stepping upon the cloudy stair,
Mounts to her throne
To man unknown,
In the heaven's blue heart bare.
With slender hands,
The meteor bands
Sway the cloud-fans many;
Then we seek
The ocean's deep,
In its endless symphony,
For hidden treasures
In its chambers,
To adorn the moon's bright crown;
While the other stars
Search afar,
Over green lands and pools of brown.
The night's heart,
That covers the earth,
Embraces heaven, earth and sea;
Her fair daughters,
The moon and the stars,
Are her smile, mirth, and revery.
With love endless,
Her mother's breast
Pours incessant nectar white,
For us to drink;
For us to bring
To man, praying for the graces of night.
On her lap,
Silently nap
Green-tressed plant and trees;
In her arms
That dream embalms,
Rest so many children like bees.
And their souls
Their wings unfold,
Course with the moon and us,
From sunset's bank
To sun-dawn's strand
That twilight joins like an isthmus,
The two continents
Of time's moments
Known as night and day;
Light our smile,
Night our wile,
The sun's light and the moon's ray.
Through infinite space,
At phantom's pace,
Move we without end;
With opal laughter,
We make and mar
Destiny's good and evil bent.
With perfumed kiss
On youth's sweet lips,
Open we the checkered doors of dream;
With gem and coral,
We make the coronal
That from love's brow doth send its gleam
Through all darkness,
Like a largess
To descend, dance and scatter
Over mountain-crest,
The valley's breast,
Its glory in gold and silver.
Then life and love
We lift silently above
For blessing, from earth yonder,
To night's cathedral
That has many a portal
With votaries of dream and star.
First they enter
Their tribute render
At sleep's silent hall;
Then silently pace,
With humble grace,
Where the fairies install
Queen fancy,
Her necromancy,
On her throne in child's soul.
Then they pass
With awesome hush
To that portal where, whorl
Rising on whorl
Of smoke of gold,
Floating on saffron wing
Colors the arch
The columns march
And cloud-fans that meteors swing.
From behind the altar,
Like a million star,
Wakes the Sungod at last!
We dance and sing
The primal hymn
To the cloud-herald's trumpet blast.
Lo, the king rises!
Shadow vanishes,
Thrilling all with light and joy,
The glacial mountain,
And limpid fountain
That runs adown it like a boy,
With message of light
On lips snow-white
To the sleeping valley beneath.
Then to the ocean,
That with commotion
Its waking breath doth heave.

Our song is over,
We fly yonder,
With mother night and moon,
To distant lands,
In myriad bands,
Where all are restfully aswoon.

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

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