A Summer Night / Elizabeth Drew Stoddard

A Summer Night

I feel the breath of the summer night,
      Aromatic fire;
The trees, the vines, the flowers are astir
      With tender desire.

The white moths flutter about the lamp,
      Enamored with light;
And a thousand creatures softly sing
      A song to the night.

But I am alone, and how can I sing
      Praises to thee?      
Come, Night! unveil the beautiful soul
      That waiteth for me.

~~

Elizabeth Drew Stoddard (1823-1902)

from Poems, 1859

[Poem is in the public domain worldwide]

Elizabeth Drew Stoddard biography