As light on lids that slumber, warms unseen,
So now, thy veiled presence breathing near,
Soft penetrates the web of darkness drear,
That Night, the grim Arachne, weaves between
Wan Twilight and her roseate sister-queen,
Imperial Dawn. Behold how many a tear
(Pale records of immortal memory dear)
Attests thy wonted influence serene!
And, lo! the winged moments, one by one,
Foreshadowed of the ages yet to be,
Upon the bleak horizon where the sun
Tinges the mist of dim futurity,
Beholding here thy glimmering footsteps gone,
Speed through the trackless interval to thee.