Good-night! Now dwindle wan and low <br />The embers of the afterglow, <br />And slowly over leaf and lawn <br />Is twilight's dewy curtain drawn. <br />The slouching vixen leaves her lair, <br />And, prowling, sniffs the tell-tale air. <br />The frogs croak louder in the dyke, <br />And all the trees seem dark alike: <br />The bee is drowsing in the comb, <br />The sharded beetle hath gone home: <br />Good-night! <br /> <br />Good-night! The hawk is in his nest, <br />And the last rook hath dropped to rest. <br />There is no hum, no chirp, no bleat, <br />No rustle in the meadow-sweet. <br />The woodbine, somewhere out of sight, <br />Sweetens the loneliness of night. <br />The Sister Stars, that once were seven, <br />Mourn for their missing mate in Heaven. <br />The poppy's fair frail petals close, <br />The lily yet more languid grows, <br />And dewy-dreamy droops the rose: <br />Good-night! <br /> <br />Good-night! Caressing and caressed, <br />The moist babe warms its mother's breast. <br />Silent are rustic loom and lathe; <br />The scythe lies quiet as the swathe; <br />The woodreeve blinks in covert shed, <br />The weary yokel is abed, <br />The covey warm beneath the wing, <br />And sleep enfoldeth everything. <br />Forsaken love, its last tear shed, <br />On the lone pillow lays its head, <br />And all our woes are respited: <br />Good-night!<br /><br />Alfred Austin<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/good-night-44/
