Poems (Frances Elizabeth Browne)/Thoughts on a moonlight night
THOUGHTS ON A MOONLIGHT NIGHT.
Mild, effulgent orb of night,Gleaming through my window bright,How many may, with calm delight, This moment gaze on thee!Some chastened child of sorrow's train,Perhaps tossing on a bed of painAnd courting balmy sleep in vain, May turn her eyes to thee,And in thy softened, soothing ray,Inspiring hope as bright, she may Thy Maker's goodness see!
Haply the lover, far removedFrom her most fondly, truly loved, Thy sympathetic beam May hail, recalling joys long fled,In memory cherished still, and, ledBy fairy fancy, largely shed By thy sweet influence, delightful dream,—May see the loved one shed a tearFor him, may hear her breathe a prayerFor his return; and ah! how dear That tear, that prayer, would seem!
And Cynthia, ever thy pale rayIs dearer than the blaze of day To minds of thoughtful mould;While lesser fires, a numerous train,Around thee glitter, banish vain, And glorious thoughts unfold.