Nature lay shrouded: And the tread
Of man gives out a hollow sound,
As from a tomb. I look'd around
O'er the desolate earth: there was no ray
Of gladness there: I turn'd away,
And look'd to the glorious heavens afar,
Where the stranger orb,^[1] in his flaming car,
Rode on his destined way:
Like a proud and bloody conqueror,
Bearing the banner of his war,
Arrayed in his golden robes of fame,
And crown'd with a victor's diadem.

I look'd to the lovely vestal throng
Of shining stars, and they smiled on me
With a kind and gentle sympathy—
For I have lov'd them long:
From youth to manhood I have lov'd
With each pure and bright divinity
To hold sweet commune: I have rov'd,
In boyhood's hours of glee,
And since the sombre scarf of years
Was over me, full many a night
Beneath their canopy of light,