Poetical Remains of the Late Mrs Hemans/A Thought at Sunset

by Felicia Hemans

For other versions of this work, see Records of Passing Thought. XIV. A Thought at Sunset.

XIV.

A THOUGHT AT SUNSET.

Still that last look is solemn! though thy rays
O Sun! to-morrow will give back, we know,
This joy to nature's heart. Yet through the glow
Of clouds that mantle thy decline, our gaze
Tracks thee with love half fearful:—and in days
When earth too much adored thee, what a swell
Of mournful passion, deepening mighty lays,
Told how the dying bade thy light farewell,
O Sun of Greece! O glorious, festal Sun!
Lost, lost!—for them thy golden hours were done,
And darkness lay before them! Happier far
Are we, not thus to thy bright wheels enchained,
Not thus for thy last parting unsustained,
Heirs of a purer day, with its unsetting star.