A Nocturne

Night broodeth o'er the solitude serene
As some glad mother o'er her first-born child,
Pouring her gladness on the shadowy scene
In floods of magic moonlight : bird-cries wild

Ring out amid the stillness ; soon the stars
(Night's waking dreams) jewel the welkin wide ;
The dark trees stand mysterious avatars ;
The moon moves proudly like a regal bride.

There camped upon the crest-line of the hill
Slumber the men beneath the silent night :
The Youth who wait the broken line to fill,
Strong to endure and eager for the fight.

And there beyond hushed in a deeper sleep
Upon the fire-swept zones, beneath the free
Blue silent night, there lay men who did keep
Our pride of Honour for posterity.

Now in this hour ships from yon harbour go,
Yon southern port, bearing their human freight ;
Brown men of steel born to resist the foe,
Dreaming of life and love so near death's gate—

Into the night they merge, and who can tell
If to pass Youth or at its ecstasy
To die : the night doth keep lone sentinel
Above Life's grand eternal mystery.

1915.