The Dark Before Dawn: Edith Thomas

“Oh, mystery of the morning gloam,
Of haunted air, of windless hush!
Oh, wonder of the deepening dome-
Afar, still far, the morning’s flush!
My spirit hears, among the spheres,
The round earth’s ever-quickening rush!

A single leaf, on yonder tree,
The planet’s rush hath felt, hath heard,
And soon all branches whispering be;
That whisper wakes the nested bird-
The song of the thrush, before the blush
Of Dawn, the dreaming world hath stirred!

The old moon withers in the East-
The winds of space may drive her far!
In heaven’s chancel waits the priest-
Dawn’s pontiff-priest, the morning star!
And yonder, lo! a shafted glow-
The gates of Day-spring fall ajar!”