THE MIDNIGHT HORSEMAN

Ten thousand trees in the forest stood And watched me as I passed, Ten thousand trees that did not breathe The wind that rode as fast, Ten thousand leaves on every tree Immovably aghast! The road in the light of the moon was white, The sky overhead was gray, With a kind of a washed, half-tone effect That took the night away, Yet to right and left like the cloak of death The deepest darkness lay. The steed’s quick breath his hooves beat out And silvered all the air, On, on we sped like a thing of dread; We were a ghostly pair. We passed the somber stricken wood; We found no shelter there. I might have stayed and made pretense That I was like the rest, And laughed and drunk and sung their songs As loudly as the best, And never have given an answer to, Not recognized my quest. Farewell, and onward! Piteous flight That leaves all friends behind, That hastes from old familiar scenes Where love was young and kind. Oh, petrified Sylvania, Where shall I others find?