Page:Alaska days with John Muir.djvu/140

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NIGHT IN A CANOE

A dreary world! The constant rain
     Beats back to earth blithe fancy's wings;
     And life—a sodden garment—clings
About a body numb with pain.
 
Imagination ceased with light;
     Of Nature's psalm no echo lingers.
     The death-cold mist, with ghostly fingers,
Shrouds world and soul in rayless night.
 
An inky sea, a sullen crew,
     A frail canoe's uncertain motion;
     A whispered talk of wind and ocean,
As plotting secret crimes to do!
 
The vampire-night sucks all my blood;
     Warm home and love seem lost for aye;
     From cloud to cloud I steal away,
Like guilty soul o'er Stygian flood.
 
Peace, morbid heart! From paddle blade
     See the black water flash in light;
     And bars of moonbeams streaming white,
Have pearls of ebon raindrops made.
 
From darkest sea of deep despair
     Gleams Hope, awaked by Action's blow;
     And Faith's clear ray, though clouds hang low,
Slants up to heights serene and fair.