ODE TO THE MOON.
Reading edition
BY MRS. E. C. KINNEY.
I.
Myriads have sung thy praise, Fair Dian, virgin-goddess of the skies! And myriads will raise Their songs, as time yet onward flies, To thee, chaste prompter of the lover's sighs, And of the minstrel's lays! Yet still exhaustless as a theme Shall be thy name— While lives immortal Fame— As when to people the first poet's dream Thy inspiration came.
II.
None ever lived, or loved, Who hath not thine oblivious influence felt— As if a silver veil hid outward things, While some bright spirit's wings Mysteriously moved The world of fancies that within him dwelt— Regent of Night! whence is this charm in thee, That sways the human soul with potent witchery?
III.
When first the infant learns to look on high, While twilight's drapery his heart appals, Thy full-orbed presence captivates his eye; Or when, 'mid shadows grim upon the walls, Are sent thy pallid rays, 'Tis awe his bosom fills, And trembling joy that thrills His tiny frame, and fastens his young gaze: Thy spell is on that heart, And childhood may depart, But it shall gather strength with youthful days; For oft as thou, capricious moon! Shalt wax and wane, He, now perchance a love-sick swain, Will watch thee at night's stilly noon, Pouring his passion in an amorous strain: Or, with the mistress of his soul— Lighted by thy love-whispering beams— In some secluded garden stroll, Bewildered in ambrosial dreams; Nor once suspect, while his full pulses move, That thou, whom tides obey, may'st turn the tide of love!
IV.
The watcher on the deep— Though weary be his eye— Forgets even drowsy sleep, When thou art in the sky! For with thine image on the silvery sea A thousand forms of memory Whirl in a mazy dance; And when he upward looks to thee, In thy far-reaching glance There is a sacred bond of sympathy 'Twixt sea and land; For on his native strand That glance awakens kindred souls To kindred thought, And though the deep between them rolls, Hearts are together brought; While tears that fall from eyes at home, And those that wet the sailor's cheek, From the same sacred fountains come— The same emotion speak.
V.
The watcher on the land— Who holds the burning hand Of one whom scorching fever wastes— Beholds thee, orient moon! With reddened face, expanded in the east, Till Superstition chills his breast, While tremulous he hastes To draw the curtains as thou journeyest on: But when the far-spent night Is streaked with dawning light, Again, to look on thee, He lifts the drapery, And hope divine now triumphs over fear, As in the zenith far A pale, small orb thou dost appear, While eastward rises morn's resplendent star! And Fancy sees the passing soul ascend Where thy mild glories with the azure blend.
VI.
Even on the face of Death thou lookest calm, Fair Dian! as when watchful thou didst keep Love's holy vigils o'er Endymion's sleep, Drinking the breath of youth's perpetual balm. Thy beams are kissing now The icy brow Of many a youth in slumber deep, Who cannot yield to thee The incense of Love's perfumed breath, For no response gives Death! Ah, 'tis a fearful sight to see Thy lustre on a human face Where the Promethean spark has left no trace, As if it shone upon The marble cold, Of that famed ruin old— The grand, but empty Parthenon!
VII.
Dian, enchantress of all hearts! While mine in song now worships thee, From thy far-shooting bow the silver darts Fall thick and fast on me: Oh, beautiful in light and shade, By thee is this fair landscape made! Gems sparkle on the river's breast— Now covered by an icy vest— Upon the frozen hills A regal glory shines! And all the scene, as Fancy wills, Shifts into new designs. Yet night is still as Death's unbroken realms, And solemnly thy light, wan orb, is cast Through the arched branches of these reverend elms, As though it through the Gothic windows passed Of some old abbey or cathedral vast.
VIII.
In awe my spirit kneels— And seems before a hallowed shrine; Yet not the majesty of Art it feels, But Nature's law divine— The presence of her mighty Architect! Who piled these pyramidal hills sublime, That still, pure moon, thy radiance will reflect, And still defy the crumbling touch of Time: Who built this temple of gigantic trees, Where Nature's worshipers repair To pray the heart's unuttered prayer, Whose veiled thought the great Omniscient sees.
IX.
Oh, I could wonder, and adore Religious Night! and thee, her queen! Till golden Phœbus should restore His splendor to the scene! But the same natural laws control Thy motions and the poet's will; So, that while tireless roves the soul, This actual life must weary still. And oh, inspirer of my song! While close these eyes upon thy beams, Watching, amid thy starry throng, Be thou the goddess of my dreams.