Friday, March 6, 2015

The Day is done

Since I had an edited picture  of a sunset to share today I went in search of something to put with it and found the poem The Day Is Done by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow


The Day Is Done

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow1807 - 1882
The day is done, and the darkness
   Falls from the wings of Night,
As a feather is wafted downward
   From an eagle in his flight.

I see the lights of the village
   Gleam through the rain and the mist,
And a feeling of sadness comes o’er me,
   That my soul cannot resist:
   
A feeling of sadness and longing,
   That is not akin to pain,
And resembles sorrow only
   As the mist resembles the rain.
   
Come, read to me some poem,
   Some simple and heartfelt lay,
That shall soothe this restless feeling,
   And banish the thoughts of day.

Not from the grand old masters,
   Not from the bards sublime,
Whose distant footsteps echo
   Through the corridors of Time. 

For, like strains of martial music,
   Their mighty thoughts suggest
Life’s endless toil and endeavor;
   And to-night I long for rest.
   
Read from some humbler poet,
   Whose songs gushed from his heart,
As showers from the clouds of summer,
   Or tears from the eyelids start;

Who, through long days of labor,
   And nights devoid of ease,
Still heard in his soul the music
   Of wonderful melodies.

Such songs have power to quiet
   The restless pulse of care,
And come like the benediction
   That follows after prayer.

Then read from the treasured volume
   The poem of thy choice,
And lend to the rhyme of the poet
   The beauty of thy voice.

And the night shall be filled with music
   And the cares that infest the day,
Shall fold their tents, like the Arabs,
   And as silently steal away.

12 comments:

Ginny Hartzler said...

This is one of the best pictures you have EVER posted! It is divine!! And the poem...out of this world! In fact, I have quoted the last verse many times, it is in Quote Garden. But I never read the poem before now! I am going to copy and save the poem. Genius post today.

Duni said...

The photo is beautiful and the poem is perfect with it! Happy Friday, Ann :)

bichonpawz said...

That is one gorgeous sunset photo and the poem is perfect with it! Happy Friday Ann!

MadSnapper said...

perfect match of poem to photo.. sunsets and sunrises are soothing to me and make me feel happy, not melancholy..

Out on the prairie said...

Interesting ending for a day, I enjoy sunrise and sunsets.With the change in time it will throw me off waiting for the sun to rise again.

Donna said...

Love the photo and the poem...and kind of sad too...
Sweet weekend friend!
hughugs

Sandee said...

Very well done. I too agree that the photograph and the poem go hand in hand.

Have a fabulous Friday my friend. Scritches to Gibbs. :)

Grace said...

I would have liked more photo and less poem. While I love poetry Longfellow is hardly one of my favorites...Great photo.

Ida said...

That is a lovely photo. I thought the poem was nice enough although I'm not to familiar with it. I didn't think it was that bad.

jp@A Green Ridge said...

A super pic...just super!...:)JP

BeadedTail said...

Lovely photo! It reminds me of farms back in KS.

Sharkbytes said...

Great picture, and I'm a huge Longfellow fan. Good stuff.

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