Poems (Edwards)/The Midnight Serenade

by Matilda Caroline Smiley Edwards

THE MIDNIGHT SERENADE.

Hark! through the midnight gloom I hear A soft melodious strain,It rises on the stilly air, Then sinks and dies again;It echoes like a spirit's voice, Through mountain, hill and glade,It fills my heart with joy; it is "The midnight serenade."

Breathe not a word, wake not a sound, Break not the thrilling spell,Mar not the melody that suits My own heart-harp so well;Sing on with joyful hearts and free, In yonder moonlight shade,And let me weep; O! sing on still "The midnight serenade."

Much loftier music have I heard, Chaste music rich in art,But ne'er has melody like this E'er fallen on my heart;I love the wild, the glad, the free, The music that is madeBy heart and ear; O! sing on still, "The midnight serenade."

'Tis gone, I hear light footsteps now, Slow passing down the lawn,The music sinks and dies away, 'Till every note is gone;O! many a year may pass away, And many a memory fade,E'er I forget that Heaven touched song, "The midnight serenade."