Classic and Contemporary Poetry
DAY AND NIGHT, by HENRY VAN DYKE Poet's Biography First Line: How long is the night, brother Last Line: But love is all in all. Alternate Author Name(s): Civis Americanus Subject(s): Day; Night; Bedtime | ||||||||
HOW long is the night, brother, And how long is the day? Oh, the day's too short for a happy task, And the day's too short for play; And the night's too short for the bliss of love, -- For look, how the edge of the sky grows gray, While the stars die out in the blue above, And the wan moon fades away. How short is the day, brother, And how short is the night? Oh, the day's too long for a heavy task, And long, long, long is the night, When the wakeful hours are filled with pain, And the sad heart waits for the thing it fears, And sighs for the dawn to come again, -- The night is a thousand years! How long is a life, dear God, And how fast does it flow? The measure of life is a flame in the soul: It is neither swift nor slow. But the vision of time is the shadow cast By the fleeting world on the body's wall; When it fades there is neither future nor past, But love is all in all. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE BREATH OF NIGHT by RANDALL JARRELL HOODED NIGHT by ROBINSON JEFFERS NIGHT WITHOUT SLEEP by ROBINSON JEFFERS WORKING OUTSIDE AT NIGHT by DENIS JOHNSON POEM TO TAKE BACK THE NIGHT by JUNE JORDAN COOL DARK ODE by DONALD JUSTICE POEM TO BE READ AT 3 A.M by DONALD JUSTICE ROUND ABOUT MIDNIGHT by BOB KAUFMAN LITTLE BOATIE'; A SLUMBER SONG FOR THE FISHERMAN'S CHILD by HENRY VAN DYKE |
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