Poems (Thaxter)/Song (We sail toward evening's lonely star)
For works with similar titles, see Song.
SONG.
We sail toward evening's lonely star That trembles in the tender blue;One single cloud, a dusky bar, Burnt with dull carmine through and through,Slow smouldering in the summer sky, Lies low along the fading west.How sweet to watch its splendors die, Wave-cradled thus and wind-caressed!
The soft breeze freshens, leaps the spray To kiss our cheeks, with sudden cheer;Upon the dark edge of the bay Light-houses kindle, far and near,And through the warm deeps of the sky Steal faint star-clusters, while we restIn deep refreshment, thou and I, Wave-cradled thus and wind-caressed.
How like a dream are earth and heaven, Star-beam and darkness, sky and sea;Thy face, pale in the shadowy even, Thy quiet eyes that gaze on me! O realize the moment's charm, Thou dearest! we are at life's best,Folded in God's encircling arm, Wave-cradled thus and wind-caressed.