Charles Warren Stoddard. The Comet. Augustin S. Macdonald, comp. 1914. A Collection of Verse by California Poets

Augustin S. Macdonald, comp. A Collection of Verse by California Poets. 1914.

The Comet

By Charles Warren Stoddard


WAS it a star,
Or was it a pearl,
Loosed with a jar
From its setting
I’ the coronet moon,	5
And begetting,
As it fell with a whirl—
Whirling far—
A splendor that faded too soon?

Was it a dream	10
Of some splendid star born,
That glowed with a gleam
And a quiver
That startled the night?
Like a river	15
That flowed to the moon
It did seem,
In its luminous, lustrous light.

Was it a gem
Transfixed with a ray	20
From the burning, bright hem
Of the wondrous,
Terrible sun, or the moon?
Over us, under us,
Nor night, no, nor day	25
Hath its equal, bright gem,
Fair feather of light, flown too soon.