Song at Daybreak

1860 –

1916

Unto the portal of the Day there came
A shining presence fashioned out of flame,
And from that purple threshold of the world
Arrows of fire across the shadows hurled.

Into the forest, over plain and sea
The darts in silence sped unerringly,—
Lances of sunlight from the Morning’s bow,—
Until the firmament was all aglow.

Then from the zenith suddenly I heard
The dew-fresh notes of some enraptured bird,
Lost in the golden labyrinth of light,
Singing the dreams of a departed Night.

From A Southern Flight (G. W. Browning, 1905) by Frank Dempster Sherman. This poem is in the public domain.

Idyllic

To lie beneath a cloudless sky
On moss beneath a shallow brook
Where smells of wild-flowers in the dells
Make me forgetful of my book,—
To dream of shepherd with his crook,
Of sheep on grassy slopes asleep,—
To catch a visionary look
Of shepherdess, and hear her step
Fall like a whisper on the ground,—
To watch her sunny smiles, and see
Her dainty garments, soft and snowy,
Fold gracefully her form around,—
’Tis like a day in Sicily
With Daphnis and his sweetheart Chloë.

Frank Dempster Sherman

1887

A Prayer

It is my joy in life to find
At every turning of the road,
The strong arm of a comrade kind
To help me onward with my load.

And since I have no gold to give,
And love alone must make amends,
My only prayer is, while I live, —
God make me worthy of my friends!

Frank Dempster Sherman

1904

Pebbles

Out of a pellucid brook
Pebbles round and smooth I took :
Like a jewel, every one
Caught a color from the sun, —
Ruby red and sapphire blue,
Emerald and onyx too,
Diamond and amethyst, —
Not a precious stone I missed :
Gems I held from every land
In the hollow of my hand.
Workman Water these had made ;
Patiently through sun and shade,
With the ripples of the rill
He had polished them until,
Smooth, symmetrical and bright,
Each one sparkling in the light
Showed within its burning heart

Frank Dempster Sherman

1892

Poems

Song at Daybreak

More by this poet

Idyllic

A Prayer

Pebbles

Poems

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Song at Daybreak

More by this poet

Idyllic

A Prayer

Pebbles

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