Night in the unslumbering forest! From the free, br Vast pinelands by the foot of man untrod, br Blows the wild wind, roaming rejoicingly br This wilderness of God; br And the tall firs that all day long have flung br Balsamic odors where the sunshine burned, br Chant to its harping primal epics learned br When this old world was young. br br Beyond the lake, white, girdling peaks uplift br Untroubled brows to virgin skies afar, br And o'er the uncertain water glimmers drift br Of fitful cloud and star. br Sure never day such mystic beauty held br As sylvan midnight here in this surcease br Of toil, when the kind darkness gives us peace br Garnered from years of eld. br br Lo! Hearken to the mountain waterfall br Laughing adown its pathway to the glen br And nearer, in the cedars, the low call br Of brook to brook again; br Voices that garish daytime may not know br Wander at will along the bosky steeps, br And silent, silver-footed moonlight creeps br Through the dim glades below. br br Oh, it is well to waken with the woods br And feel, as those who wait with God alone, br The forest's heart in these rare solitudes br Beating against our own. br Close-shut behind us are the gates of care, br Divinity enfolds us, prone to bless, br And our souls kneel. Night in the wilderness br Is one great prayer.