POETRY.
"THE STARS OF MIDNIGHT."
WITH jewelled spur and dazzling crest, The belted warrior guards the West, And waves his mighty sword to span From Sirius to Aldebaran. With him I watch the midnight sky And see the glittering hosts go by, Till all my heart is one desire Towards those glorious sons of fire. Yet beauty such as mortals know Can dwell not in that fervid glow, Nor kindred life to that we claim Abide within the orbs of flame.
But, circling round each fiery spark,
Are worlds to us for ever dark, Nor eye of man, nor optic glass Those bounds of distance may o'erpass.
The beauty of the sunbeam there
May fall as genial and as fair, And there may Life, from primal cell, Repeat her long-drawn miracle. With flower and fruit, with bird and beast, May kindly Nature spread her feast, And starry dust its worth avow, Transfigured into breast and brow.
0 dark and silent though ye be, Great ships that sail the heavenly sea,
It is for you, our hearts should yearn, T'wards you, our straining vision turn!
Par off, or_ near, by day, by night,
We find ourselves the fools of sight, Pursuers of a fruitless quest, Who seek the brightest, not the best.
B. PAUL NEUMAN.
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