UNDER the shadow of a cloud, the light Died out upon the water, like a smile Chased from a face by grief. Following the flight Of a lone bird that, scudding with the breeze, Dipped its crank wing in leaden-colored seas, I saw in sunshine lifted, clear and bright, On the horizon's rim the Fortunate Isle That claims thee as its fair inhabitant, And glad of heart I whispered, "Be to her, Bird of the summer sea, my messenger; Tell her, if Heaven a fervent prayer will grant, This light that falls her island home above, Making its slopes of rock and greenness gay, A partial glory midst surrounding gray, Shall prove an earnest of our Father's love, More and more shining to the perfect day." | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...HYBRIDS OF WAR: A MORALITY POEM: 1. VIETNAM by KAREN SWENSON NAMES by SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE MANASSAS [JULY 21, 1861] by CATHERINE ANNE WARFIELD TWO SONNETS FROM NEW YORK: QUESTIONS by ADELAIDE NICHOLS BAKER PSALM 137. 'BY THE RIVERS OF BABYLON' by OLD TESTAMENT BIBLE THE PHILOSOPHIC FLIGHT by GIORDANO BRUNO |