CRUCE AND CORONA.
179
Upon her countenance celestial peaceReposes with a beauty most serene.
The sun that shines so brightly in the heav'nsIs waiting now the hour of its eclipse;To witness this, e'en with her dying gaze,Corona waiteth now within this bow'r.
Crucè beside her stands in silence sad,And tearfully she gazes on her friend,—Companion of the days of early youth,And playmate of her childhood, in that home,That far, sweet island home, which nevermoreThe eyes of either shall again behold.
Time passes. To her friend she whispers low.Corona's eyes unclose; and now she seesThe dying sunlight resting on the leaves,The sun grow lesser, dimmer all the while.Then in a twilight strange the stars come forth,A mighty shadow falls, and folds the earthIn what doth seem a supernatural night.The full-orbed night-queen, hanging in the heav'ns,Confronts the sun, and hides his kingly face. A perfect crown, a circlet of bright rays,Surrounds her, and yet still is not her ownIt is the day-king's royal signet ring.
