| |
| THE NIGHT is come, but not too soon; | |
| And sinking silently, | |
| All silently, the little moon | |
| Drops down behind the sky. | |
| |
| There is no light in earth or heaven | 5 |
| But the cold light of stars; | |
| And the first watch of night is given | |
| To the red planet Mars. | |
| |
| Is it the tender star of love? | |
| The star of love and dreams? | 10 |
| Oh no! from that blue tent above | |
| A hero’s armor gleams. | |
| |
| And earnest thoughts within me rise, | |
| When I behold afar, | |
| Suspended in the evening skies, | 15 |
| The shield of that red star. | |
| |
| O star of strength! I see thee stand | |
| And smile upon my pain; | |
| Thou beckonest with thy mailed hand, | |
| And I am strong again. | 20 |
| |
| Within my breast there is no light | |
| But the cold light of stars; | |
| I give the first watch of the night | |
| To the red planet Mars. | |
| |
| The star of the unconquered will, | 25 |
| He rises in my breast, | |
| Serene, and resolute, and still, | |
| And calm, and self-possessed. | |
| |
| And thou, too, whosoe’er thou art, | |
| That readest this brief psalm, | 30 |
| As one by one thy hopes depart, | |
| Be resolute and calm. | |
| |
| Oh, fear not in a world like this, | |
| And thou shalt know erelong, | |
| Know how sublime a thing it is | 35 |
| To suffer and be strong. | |
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