Too Brief the Interlude

Through silent air, cool-dewed--
A country dawn is never trite--
A lark sang morning in my heart until
In ecstasy I watched the sunrise spill
Its gold upon a gull in flight--
Too brief the interlude ...

The sun paused with his chin upon the hill;
Departed in a blaze of light.
In gentle quietude--
The soul of beauty nude--
Beneath star-mariners of night,
A killdeer-Angelus chimed, "Still ... Be still...!"

Country Nightfall

The gray steed, twilight mounted, canters through
My quiet country town.
Then toil and rest meet in a rendezvous
With peace. The stars dance down,
With astral singing ripple-splash the stream;
A killdeer-chime intones the heart to dream.

The white-limbed aspens' spangles twirl the air;
A cowbell faintly rings.
A whisper, "God is near," comes like a prayer.
Selene gently flings
Her veiling spun of opalescent light
Around the mystic loveliness of night.