| The Wings of Night |
| The Day is Done The day is done, and the darkness falls from the wings of night, As a feather is wafted downward from an eagle in his flight. I see the lights of the village gleam through the rain and the mist, And a feeling of sadness comes o'er me that my soul cannot resist; A feeling of sadness and longing, that is not akin to pain, And resembles sorrow only as the mist resembles the rain. Come, read to me some poem, some simple and heartfelt lay, That shall soothe this restless feeling, and banish the thoughts of day. Not from the grand old masters, not from the bards sublime, Whose distant footsteps echo through the corridors of time. For, like strains of martial music, their mighty thoughts suggest Life's endless toil and endeavor; and tonight I long for rest. Read from some humbler poet, whose songs gushed from his heart, As showers from the clouds of summer, or tears from the eyelids start; Who, through long days of labor, and nights devoid of ease, Still heard in his soul the music of wonderful melodies. Then read from the treasured volume the poem of thy choice, And lend to the rhyme of the poet the beauty of thy voice. And the night shall be filled with music and the cares that infest the day, Shall fold their tents, like the Arabs, and as silently steal away. -- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow |
| Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high, There's a land that I heard of once in a lullaby. Some day I'll wish upon a star and wake up where the clouds are far behind me, Where troubles melt like lemon drops, away above the chimney tops..... That's where you'll find me. -- Somewhere Over the Rainbow, E. Y. Harburg |
| Hymn to the Night I heard the trailing garments of the night sweep through her marble halls! I saw her sable skirts all fringed with light from the celestial walls! I heard the sounds of sorrow and delight, the manifold, soft chimes, That fill the haunted chambers of the night, like some dead poet's rhymes. From the cool cisterns of the midnights air my spirit drank repose; The fountain of perpetual peace flows there, from deep cisterns flows. Peace.....peace. Orestes, like I breathe this prayer! Descend with broad winged flight, The welcome, thrice-prayed for, most fair, best-beloved night! -- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow |
| Slowly, gently, night unfurls its splendour, seek it, sense it, magical and tender, Turn your thoughts away from cold unfeeling light, and listen to the music of the night, To the power of the music that I write.....the power of the music of the night. -- The Music of the Night, Andrew Lloyd Webber |
| A Forest Sunset Once on a glorious and resplendent eve, through copse and underwood my path I broke; The shining sun was on the point to leave, and flashed through thickets of the pine and oak; 'Twas sweet to see those vari-coloured rays come pouring through the coverts silently; Through little streaming loopholes, set ablaze, or blinked at will, by shifting of an eye; The evening's charms were rich and manifold, beyond the reach of my best utterance; 'Twas some kind Providence, no common chance, which made my eyes wink at those wells of gold, Sprung in the glooming leafage, while the dance of wilding boughs was pleasant to behold. -- Charles Turner |
| We can make our minds so like still water that beings gather about us, so that they may see their own images and so live for a moment with a clearer, perhaps even with a fiercer life, because of our quiet. -- William Butler Yeats Steal your tomorrows and live them today. -- Will Hoover |
| Did it take you long to find me? I asked the faithful light. Did it take you long to find me? Are you gonna' stay the night? -- Moon Shadow, Cat Stevens |
| I see the moon, the moon sees me, The moon sees the one that I want to see, God bless the moon and God bless me, And God bless the one that I want to see. -- Author Unknown |
| LINKS: Night Photographer.Com (You have to do some hunting, but there are some wonderfully haunting shots on this site) The Nocturnes Lost America: Night Photography of the Abandoned Roadside West Nocturnal & Black and White Archives (Scroll down for categories) Black & White Photography: New Orleans Cemeteries Frederic Remington's Nocturnes |
| Music: Music of the Night |