Poems (Merrill)/Ode to the Northern Lights

by Clara A. Merrill

ODE TO THE NORTHERN LIGHTS

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Aurora-borealis:—Thy secret vast  Hast ne'er by Man been found—As, through the Ages of the Past  From Times remotest bound When Night her sable curtains fold  O'er all the earth, then high 'Mid star-gemmed canopy—behold  Thy rays illume the sky!

Canst tell—ye ice-bergs of the North— Whence comes these waves of light Whose golden splendor shimmers forth  To greet the Queen of Night—Dost power that welds thy icy chain  And casts thy fetters strong Ere thus make radiant thy domain  As the ages creep along?

Ye wavering light!—Afar on high  Shines forth, like chastening rod That Power, reflecting on the sky  The mighty Hand of God! Then bow, ye mortal monarchs brave  Before thy crumbling throne! Aurora's beams shall deck thy grave  When a hundred years are flown.