Courage
A tremor shook the inmost heart of night,
And starting up one cried: "The day has come!"
But others cursed him, bidding him be dumb--
"The Sun is dead: there will be no more light."
Again the darkness trembled, and again;
And now there crept into the eastern sky
A hesitant greyness, and a voiceless sigh
Passed wakefully across the sleeping plain.
Then slowly, very slowly, one by one,
Leaves stirred and branches quivered, till at last
Expectant, while the pulse of dawn beat fast,
All nature waited, breathless, for the Sun.
The Sun-god drew his bow: ray after ray
His arrows swept the heavens, and lo! 'twas day!
A tremor shook the inmost heart of night,
And starting up one cried: "The day has come!"
But others cursed him, bidding him be dumb--
"The Sun is dead: there will be no more light."
Again the darkness trembled, and again;
And now there crept into the eastern sky
A hesitant greyness, and a voiceless sigh
Passed wakefully across the sleeping plain.
Then slowly, very slowly, one by one,
Leaves stirred and branches quivered, till at last
Expectant, while the pulse of dawn beat fast,
All nature waited, breathless, for the Sun.
The Sun-god drew his bow: ray after ray
His arrows swept the heavens, and lo! 'twas day!