First Day of Summer 2008 III

Summer Night

Among the crooked Lanes, on every Hedge,
The Glow-Worm lights his Gem; and, thro' the Dark,
A moving Radiance twinkles. Evening yields
The world to Night; not in her Winter-Robe
Of massy Stygian Woof, but loose array'd
In Mantle dun. A faint erroneous Ray,
Glanc'd from th' imperfect Surfaces of Things,
Flings half an Image on the straining Eye;
While wavering Woods, and Villages, and Streams,
And Rocks, and Mountain-tops, that long retain'd
Th' ascending Gleam, are all one swimming Scene,
Uncertain if beheld. Sudden to Heaven
Thence weary Vision turns; where, leading soft
The silent Hours of Love, with purest Ray
Sweet Venus shines; and from her genial Rise
When Day-Light sickens, till it springs afresh,
Unrivall'd reigns, the fairest Lamp of Night.

James Thomson (1700-1748)

The Oxford Book of Eighteenth Century Verse (1926), ed. David Nichols Smith, # 161b.

Lane Core Jr. CIW P — Fri. 06/20/08 09:00:00 PM
Categorized as Literary.