SILENCE

by: Danske Dandridge (1854-1914)

OME down from the aerial height,

Spirit of the summer night!

Come softly stepping from the slender Moon,

Where thou dost lie upon her gentle breast,

And bring a boon

Of silence and of solace for our rest.

 

Or lift us, lift our souls to that bright place

Where she doth hide her face;

Lap us in light and cooling fleece, and steep

Our hearts in stillness; drench in drowsy dreams;

Grant us the pleasant langour that beseems

And rock our sleep.

 

Quell thy bared lightning in the sombre west;

Quiet thy thunder-dogs that bay the Moon;

Soothe the day's fretting, like a tender nurse;

Breathe on our spirits 'till they be in tune:

Were it not best

To hush all noises in the universe,

And bless with solemn quietude, that thus

The still, small voice of God might speak to us?

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