Nightfall Song

Nightfall Song
By Arthur Stilwell


Night chases home the last rapscallions
Of light, that lagged behind for one stolen game
Of hide and seek peeped athwart distant hills,
Until door slams on last reluctant imp,
And mother darkness cradles earth and sky
In her soft-flung embrace of downy gloom;
Then the firmament parasols its stars,
Such crowds of pure, benedictory sparks,
Who dare doubt prayers become sky emeralds;
Next all-caressing moon melts lustrous ore
Upon sweet-silvered realms of fields and trees.
And I, fleeting perishable atomy,
Gazing at these shows imperishable,
(Earth's co-passengers since its darkling birth),
Feel connected with the first tottering man,
Who beheld with awe this same happening,
And the uncertain creature eons hence,
Who'll stare amazement at its replica;
For a moment we three unknowns have dwelt
Together, blessed each other's softened heart.



Published Western People