THE splendor of the sinking moon Deserts the silent bay; The mountain-isles loom large and faints Folded in shadows gray, And the lights of land are setting stars That soon will pass away. O boatman, cease thy mellow song! O minstrel, drop thy lyre! Let us hear the voice of the midnight sea, Let us speak as the waves inspire, While the plashy dip of the languid oar Is a furrow of silver fire. Day cannot make thee half so fair, Nor the stars of eve so dear: The arms that clasp and the breast that keeps, They tell me thou art near, And the perfect beauty of thy face In thy murmured words I hear. The lights of land have dropped below The vast and glimmering sea; The world we leave is a tale that is told, -- A fable, that cannot be. There is no life in the sphery dark But the love in thee and me! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...SLEEPLESS NIGHT by SARA TEASDALE MY GARDEN by THOMAS EDWARD BROWN THE PLOUGHER [OR PLOWER] by PADRAIC COLUM TWO SONGS FROM THE PERSIAN: 2 by THOMAS BAILEY ALDRICH SONNET TO W-- P-- by BERNARD BARTON |