Dawn at Paardekraal
The dim grey light comes stealing, and the stars
Melt swiftly, till at last the only one
Is left a watcher. Rosy, radiant bars
Of cloud foretell a day not yet begun.
The purple sky pales in the waking east
From blue to faintest green. The mountains stand
On the horizon's edge. Each bird and beast
Stirs in its sleep. A hush is o'er the land.
The light grows brighter. Trees and shrubs appear
Like wraiths that beckon dumbly in the gloom,
Mysterious shapes that slowly grow more clear,
Then--chirping birds, and flowers all a-bloom.
And lo! the Sun--wielding a molten spear,
Leaps, like a god, new-risen from his tomb.
The dim grey light comes stealing, and the stars
Melt swiftly, till at last the only one
Is left a watcher. Rosy, radiant bars
Of cloud foretell a day not yet begun.
The purple sky pales in the waking east
From blue to faintest green. The mountains stand
On the horizon's edge. Each bird and beast
Stirs in its sleep. A hush is o'er the land.
The light grows brighter. Trees and shrubs appear
Like wraiths that beckon dumbly in the gloom,
Mysterious shapes that slowly grow more clear,
Then--chirping birds, and flowers all a-bloom.
And lo! the Sun--wielding a molten spear,
Leaps, like a god, new-risen from his tomb.