Poetry Explorer


Classic and Contemporary Poetry


NOCTURNE IN AUGUST by YORK SAMPSON

First Line: I SAW TWO STARS THERE WALKING HAND IN HAND
Last Line: I TRY TO CLING TO WHAT IS LEFT OF NIGHT.
Subject(s): AUGUST; MOON; NIGHT; BEDTIME;

I saw two stars there walking hand in hand.
Like lovers in a sweet Elysian land;
The Moon, that mistress of the garden high
Was paling fast in the soft summer sky.

A melody, as from a pagan shepherd's flute
Shatters the silence, and all is mute.
But now the planets fade and dawn is near
No more the haunting oaten reed I hear:
And I am wondering long if ever you can see
The quiet spell the night has made on me.
Thus, as the pale Moon vanishes from sight
I try to cling to what is left of night.



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