Poems (Edwards)/Twilight Hours
TWILIGHT HOURS.
It is the soft sweet hour,
The hour of holy twilight, when all things
Have wrapped themselves in shadows. 'Tis the hour
Of soothing retrospection, when the past
Comes back in its rich beauty, bringing all
The scenes of "by-gone hours," all hopes, all joys,
All dreams of pleasure, all regrets, all tears,
All names, all recollections, and all words,
All deeds, all looks, all images. Ah me!
How much the past can tell us? what rebukes
It bears upon its bosom! and how much
It warns us of the future!
Twilight hours
Were made for contemplation. To my soul
They seem like dark low chambers, where my heart
Can go for hushed communion, and drink in
The sweet dews of reflection. Where all things,
All hopes, all joys, all memories, seem to glide
Into one holy, channel, and go up
Like sweet incense to the Eternal. One such hour
Spent in his sacred presence, far outweighs
The many hours, the days, the months, the years,
Spent in search of worldly pleasures. One such hour
Is worth the lifetime of a man whose thoughts
Are always bent on earth.
The hour of holy twilight, when all things
Have wrapped themselves in shadows. 'Tis the hour
Of soothing retrospection, when the past
Comes back in its rich beauty, bringing all
The scenes of "by-gone hours," all hopes, all joys,
All dreams of pleasure, all regrets, all tears,
All names, all recollections, and all words,
All deeds, all looks, all images. Ah me!
How much the past can tell us? what rebukes
It bears upon its bosom! and how much
It warns us of the future!
Twilight hours
Were made for contemplation. To my soul
They seem like dark low chambers, where my heart
Can go for hushed communion, and drink in
The sweet dews of reflection. Where all things,
All hopes, all joys, all memories, seem to glide
Into one holy, channel, and go up
Like sweet incense to the Eternal. One such hour
Spent in his sacred presence, far outweighs
The many hours, the days, the months, the years,
Spent in search of worldly pleasures. One such hour
Is worth the lifetime of a man whose thoughts
Are always bent on earth.