After the fret and failure of this day, br And weariness of thought, O Mother Night, br Come with soft kiss to soothe our care away br And all our little tumults set to right; br Most pitiful of all death’s kindred fair, br Riding above us through the curtained air br On thy dusk car, thou scatterest to the earth br Sweet dreams and drowsy charms of tender might br And lovers’ dear delight before to-morrow’s birth. br Thus art thou wont thy quiet lands to leave br And pillared courts beyond the Milky Way, br Wherein thou tarriest all our solar day br While unsubstantial dreams before thee weave br A foamy dance, and fluttering fancies play br About thy palace in the silver ray br Of some far, moony globe. But when the hour, br The long-expected comes, the ivory gates br Open on noiseless hinge before thy bower br Unbidden, and the jewelled chariot waits br With magic steeds. Thou from the fronting rim br Bending to urge them, whilst thy sea-dark hair br Falls in ambrosial ripples o’er each limb, br With beautiful pale arms, untrammelled, bare br For horsemanship, to those twin chargers fleet br Dost give full rein across the fires that glow br In the wide floor of heaven, from off their feet br Scattering the powdery star-dust as they go. br Come swiftly down the sky, O Lady Night, br Fall through the shadow-country, O most kind, br Shake out thy strands of gentle dreams and light br For chains, wherewith thou still art used to bind br With tenderest love of careful leeches’ art br The bruised and weary heart br In slumber blind.