Richard Watson Gilder

The New Day. Part 3. 1. “The Pallid Watcher of the Eastern Skies”

The pallid watcher of the eastern skies
     ⁠Who, through the suffering night, did wait forlorn,
     ⁠When comes the first faint purple of the morn
⁠     Waiteth no longer. To his happy eyes
The promised near the promise following flies,
⁠     Nor is his soul with sullen anguish torn,
⁠     Nor curseth he the day when he was born.
     ⁠From the damp ground he doth in wonder rise,
Firm set his face against the gathering glory—
⁠     So to be sure that this, at last, is this,
⁠     And not the ancient, bitter-lying story.
And now he prays for strength to bear the bliss,
⁠     While, bending o'er the mountain, red and hoary,
     ⁠The morning crowns him with a golden kiss.