A Night Thought

I have seen the meteor’s transient light,
As, a moment, it gilded the gloom of night;
I have watched the shower of starlets bright
That bespangled its glittering way:
But though dazzling the flash of its brilliant beam,
It has passed away like a fading dream,
And a sadder and deeper gloom would seem
To mourn for the meteor’s ray.

I thought ’twas an emblem of pleasure’s power
O’er the mind of man in its mirthful hour,
When the clouds of care o’er the soul that lower
To its transient ray give room:
A moment, its beams round the spirit play;--
A moment, the dazzled spirit is gay;--
A moment!--the meteor has passed away,
And there follows a deeper gloom.