Classic Poem

Star of evening, beaming bright,
With a never dying light;
Still thy constant course pursue,
Ever welcome to my view.

Star of evening, I have oft
Watch'd thy constant course aloft,
When the frequent fleecy cloud
Wrapt thee in its sombre shroud.

I have waited till again
Should thy beams illume the plain;
And have seen thy parting ray,
O'er the waters, twinkling, play.

When the sailor's course is lost,
And his vessel tempest-toss'd,—
Joyfully he turns to thee,
As thou breakest on the sea.

When thou smilest from above,
Is the sacred hour of love;—
Absent beauty's worshipper
Looks to thee, and thinks of her.

At thine approach, the vesper hymn
Peals along the chapel dim;
And the solemn voice of pray'r
Mingles with the dewy air.

Beneath thy beams the shepherds slept,
Or their watchful vigils kept,
When the angels brought to earth
Tidings of a Saviour's birth.

Star of eve! thy cheerful rays
Waken thoughts of former days,—
Lead our minds to hopes of bliss,
In a brighter world than this.

Thou dost seem to fancy's eye,
Throned in yonder sapphire sky,
Like a home of endless rest,
For the spirits of the blest.

While I wander through the gloom
Which surrounds my mortal doom,
Still, sweet vision, shine afar,
Be thou still my guiding star.