The Roads at Night

Walking the country roads at night

Or in the early hours of morning,

I lack not company despite

The dark and stillness, I’m alone;

For stars above my head are gems adorning

The friendly sky, and on a throne

Sits wrapped in peace each muffled height.

 

But in the town,

Where eerie lights unwinking shine

And streets with blank eyes watch me tread,

It is as if I walk among the dead.

Prone sleeping bodies drown

In dark oblivion,

And every window with its curtains drawn

Shuts out the world until the coming dawn.

 

But in the slumbering countryside

Creatures innumerable are awake;

Although unseen, their active force is felt

And the dark world is vibrant with a word unspelt

But pressing on the mind to make

A peace that flows with a full tide.