I SAW a light cloud floating in the sheen Of the resplendent moonshine; undefined Its fleecy edges shivered in the wind Alone, at first it moved in distance seen, But as it neared on the broad disk serene Of the full moon, it grew a settled form; And in its train appeared a shadowy swarm, Attendant vapours, hov'ring links, between This pale forerunner, and huge shrouds of gloom, Which, lowering o'er the hills, portentous prophets loom. Thus, on its inner heaven, the soul descries Shapes of significance, indefinite, Dimming its native clarity, yet bright And cozening in beauty. Lone they rise, In seeming harmless; but to virtue's eyes When brought to Truth's illumined disk anear, They show as darkness -- harbingers appear Of gloomy ranks, whose dim perspective dies In earthly mists born of corruption's slime, Leading through paths obscure, from Error down to Crime | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...DEDICATION TO THE LATER SONNETS TO URANIA by GEORGE SANTAYANA THE HAPPIEST HEART by JOHN VANCE CHENEY CHARLIE MACHREE by WILLIAM JAMES HOPPIN DANNY DEEVER by RUDYARD KIPLING SIMON LEGREE: NEGRO SERMON; MEMORIAL TO BOOKER T. WASHINGTON by NICHOLAS VACHEL LINDSAY LINCOLN by SILAS WEIR MITCHELL |