Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, RADIANT CLOUDS AT SUNSET, by LYDIA HUNTLEY SIGOURNEY


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RADIANT CLOUDS AT SUNSET, by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: Bright clouds! Ye are gathering one by one
Last Line: And the pageants of earth shall have melted away.
Subject(s): Clouds


BRIGHT Clouds! ye are gathering one by one,
Ye are sweeping in pomp round the dying sun,
With crimson banner, and golden pall,
Like a host to their chieftain's funeral;
Perchance ye tread to that hallowed spot,
With a muffled dirge, though we hear it not.

But methinks ye tower with a lordlier crest,
And a richer robe as he sinks to rest;
Not thus, in the day of his pride and wrath,
Did ye dare to press on his glorious path,
At his noontide glance ye have quaked with fear,
And hasted to hide in your misty sphere.

Do you say he is dead? -- You exult in vain,
With your rainbow tint and your swelling train:
He shall rise again with his strong bright ray,
He shall reign in power when you fade away,
When ye darkly cower in your vapory hall,
Tintless, and naked, and noteless all.

The Soul! -- The Soul! -- with its eye of fire,
Thus, thus shall it soar when its foes expire,
It shall spread its wing o'er the ills that pained,
The evils that shadowed, the sins that stained;
It shall dwell where no rushing cloud hath sway,
And the pageants of earth shall have melted away.





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