I HEAR the soft September rain intone, And cheerful crickets chirping in the grass -- I bow my head, I, who am all alone: The light winds see, and shiver as they pass. No other thing is so bereft as I, -- The rain-drops fill, and mingle as they fall, -- The chirping cricket knows his neighbor nigh, -- Leaves sway responsive to the light wind's call. But Friend and Lover Thou hast put afar, And left me only Thy great, solemn sky, -- I try to pierce beyond the farthest star To search Thee out, and find Thee ere I die; But dim my vision is, or Thou dost hide Thy sacred splendor from my yearning eyes: Be pitiful, O God, and open wide To me, bereft, Thy heavenly Paradise. Give me one glimpse of that sweet, far-off rest -- Then I can bear Earth's solitude again; My soul, returning from that heavenly quest, Shall smile, triumphant, at each transient pain. Nor would I vex my heart with grief or strife, Though Friend and Lover Thou hast put afar, If I could see, through my worn tent of Life, The steadfast shining of Thy morning star. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...DOMESDAY BOOK: CONSIDER FREELAND by EDGAR LEE MASTERS TURTLE SOUP by CHARLES LUTWIDGE DODGSON CASABIANCA by FELICIA DOROTHEA HEMANS A SHROPSHIRE LAD: 48 by ALFRED EDWARD HOUSMAN NOBODY KNOWS BUT MOTHER by MARY MORRISON MOLLY PITCHER [JUNE 28, 1778] by LAURA ELIZABETH HOWE RICHARDS FEELINGS OF A REPUBLICAN ON THE FALL OF BONAPARTE by PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY |