A Night Piece A NIGHT PIECE,\\ The sky is overcast\\ With a continuous cloud of texture close,\\ Heavy and wan, all whitened by the Moon,\\ Which through that veil is indistinctly seen,\\ A dull, contracted circle, yielding light\\ So feebly spread that not a shadow falls,\\ Chequering the ground, from rock, plant, tree, or tower.\\ At length a pleasant instantaneous gleam\\ Startles the pensive traveller while he treads\\ His lonesome path, with unobserving eye\\ Bent earthwards; he looks up-the clouds are split\\ Asunder,--and above his head he sees\\ The clear moon, and the glory of the heavens.\\ There, in a black blue vault she sails along,\\ Followed by multitudes of stars, that, small\\ And sharp, and bright, along the dark abyss\\ Drive as she drives;-how fast they wheel away,\\ Yet vanish not!-the wind is in the tree,\\ But they are silent;-still they roll along\\ Immeasurably distant;-and the vault,\\ Built round by those white clouds, enormous clouds,\\ Still deepens its unfathomable depth.\\ At length the Vision closes; and the mind,\\ Not undisturbed by the delight it feels,\\ Which slowly settles into peaceful calm,\\ Is left to muse upon the solemn scene.\\ {Text Source|http://www.calstatela.edu/faculty/jgarret/wva/frmttl2.htm} 2005-05-16 21:17:17.0 2005-05-16 21:16:30.0