Shadows (Howe)/The Long Shadows

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THE LONG SHADOWS
END and beginning are one,
Westward and eastward at rising and setting of sun,
The same long shadows are laid
Prone on the earth,
Forth from the graves and the dwellings of men;
Brightest and darkest and vividest then,
The low, level glories of sunlight and shade
Cry, "Look, how the hand of a master has painted the scene!"
 ​We, at the death and the birth,
Stand in a moment of light,
Clearest because of the dark that shall be and has been.
Rearward and forward the long shadow falls.
Whether the mystery hidden be night
Or day, there is something all silent that calls:
"Here in your east is the earth-light begun;
Here in your west lie the things that are done;
End and beginning are one."

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