When evening draws her curtain wide,
And daylight yields the darkening tide,
I raise my eyes to heaven’s height,
And seek the lanterns of the night.
Among the countless stars that dwell
Within night’s vast and jewelled shell,
One name returns with gentle grace,
And brings remembrance to this place.
Released at last from earthly care,
And every burden carried there,
May thou now wander, bright and free,
Among the ancient stellae.
Near Fomalhaut thy star is set,
A light I shall not soon forget;
Not lost, but carried far above,
Into the firmament of love.
And when I trace the midnight dome,
Or watch the wheeling heavens roam,
I give quiet thanks for all thou gave,
The memories fortune could not deprive.
Guide me, Stella, when shadows fall,
When distant duties likewise call;
Not as a master charts a way,
But as a light before the day.
For every star shines not alone,
But joins a chorus all its own;
And every soul released in grace
Finds somewhere in creation’s place.
So when the blankets of the night
Are strewn with innumerable light,
I shall remember, grateful still,
The star that shines beyond the hill.
And though the years may come and go,
And earthly friendships wax and slow,
Each upward glance shall carry me
To thoughts of Stella among the Stellae.
§
Images:
Featured Image:
Fomalhaut and Piscis Austrinus, A. Fujii, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
