A life around me, clear as yes from no,
That to my restless hand some rest may bring,
And give a vital power to Action’s spring:
Thus, I must cease to be! I cried; when, lo!
An angel stood beside me on the snow,
With folded wings that came of pondering.
‘God’s glory flashes on the silence here
Beneath the moon,’ he cried, and upward threw
His glorious eyes that swept the utmost blue,
‘Ere yet his bounding brooks run forth with cheer
To bear his message to the hidden year
Who cometh up in haste to make his glory new.’