Poems (Edwards)/The Voice of Evening Hours
THE VOICE OF EVENING HOURS.
We come, we come with our dreamy eyes,With our solemn step and our muffled sighs,And our gentle songs, to bid you ceaseFrom the toils of day, and whisper peaceTo the troubled hearts that have throbbed all day,As if they were throbbing themselves away.
We bring the clouds to the western sky,And we tinge them o'er with the sunset dye;We spread a mist over the earth around,And we hush the echo of every sound;Save the night-bird's song, and the murmuring rill,And the wind spirits, calling from hill to hill.
We come, and we bring to the solemn woodA holier shadow of solitude;We spread over the valleys a deeper shade,And the leafy isle, and the flowery gladeAre gemmed with drops of the pearly dewThat softly fall from yon world of blue.
We come, and we bring to the weary rest,We bring a balm to the suffering breast,We bring a joy to the bleeding heart,We come, and the cares of day depart,As we bathe ourselves in the moonbeams paleAnd shroud the earth in a misty veil.
We come, we come, we have chased awayThe last faint gleam of departing day,We have tenderly closed the eyes that weep,We have folded the flowerets up to sleep;With a wreath of stars we have crowned the night,And the earth is bathed in their silvery light,Till the things below and the things aboveSeem touched with hues from the throne of love.