Time & Brevity

Morning, Noon and Night

by James Weldon Johnson 1871–1938

From Fifty Years & Other Poems (1917)

Time & Brevity

When morning shows her first faint flush,
I think of the tender blush
That crept so gently to your cheek
When first my love I dared to speak;
How, in your glance, a dawning ray
Gave promise of love's perfect day.

When, in the ardent breath of noon,
The roses with passion swoon;
There steals upon me from the air
The scent that lurked within your hair;
I touch your hand, I clasp your form--
Again your lips are close and warm.

When comes the night with beauteous skies,
I think of your tear-dimmed eyes,
Their mute entreaty that I stay,
Although your lips sent me away;
And then falls memory's bitter blight,
And dark--so dark becomes the night.

MLA

Johnson, James Weldon. “Morning, Noon and Night.” Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/johnson_jw/38/.

Chicago

Johnson, James Weldon. “Morning, Noon and Night.” Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/johnson_jw/38/.

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