Poems (Holmes)/On Morning
For works with similar titles, see On Morning.
On Morning.
Oh, sweet is the dawning hour, When dews like holy incense rise,And waft to God, on mystic wings, Earth's morning sacrifice.
And fair Aurora tints The azure sky with golden light,And chases far the sable clouds That veil the world in night.
And angels bright that watch Nightly while earth reposing lies,Spreading their pure celestial wings, Mount swiftly to the skies.
Or rosy twilight fades Before the gorgeous king of day,Who from the east rejoicing comes In glorious array.
And gentle zephyrs kiss Dew-drops from the blushing flowers,That waking shed their odors sweet Through fields and summer bowers.
And on the ocean's wave Sunbeams like golden shadows gleam,And laughing breezes catch the spray That leaps from mountain stream.
And to the huntsman's horn The echoing rocks and hills reply,And beasts of prey that nightly prowl - Like falcons swift go by.
And insect voices greet With songs of praise the waking day,And feathered songsters warble sweet To God their morning lay.
And man from sweet repose, Joyful again to see the light,Goes forth to toil with cheerful heart, Till day gives place to night.
O sweet and hallowed time, Let thy peaceful influence restOn all the hours that shall succeed To this that thou hast blessed.