118
ONE AWAY.
I shudder, though the grate is crimson red
And all around me is the ruddy light;
My thoughts go out to wander after one,—
To wonder where he is this boisterous night!
And all around me is the ruddy light;
My thoughts go out to wander after one,—
To wonder where he is this boisterous night!
Sleeps he beside the camp-fire's dying glare,
Dreaming of home and friends so far away?
Or pacing on the lonesome picket-guard,
With weary waiting for the break of day?
Dreaming of home and friends so far away?
Or pacing on the lonesome picket-guard,
With weary waiting for the break of day?
The tents gleam whitely through the torpid night;
The earthworks, sharp defined, rise up below;
And, through the murky gloom that lies between,
He sees the distant watch-fires of the foe.
The earthworks, sharp defined, rise up below;
And, through the murky gloom that lies between,
He sees the distant watch-fires of the foe.
His dark eye kindles,—flushes hot his cheek:
Maybe the morrow's sun will shine on strife!
The smoky sky hang over men who meet
To yield up blood for blood, and life for life!
Maybe the morrow's sun will shine on strife!
The smoky sky hang over men who meet
To yield up blood for blood, and life for life!
Oh, Heaven! the winds shriek on like fiends at war!
My heart shrinks cold and shudd'ring in my breast;
The thought of him upon that deadly field
Breaks ruthlessly through all my hours of rest!
My heart shrinks cold and shudd'ring in my breast;
The thought of him upon that deadly field
Breaks ruthlessly through all my hours of rest!
I find no peace, nor comfort! Heaven, be kind!
This mortal dread of fate, so stern and grim,
Is terrible! my dreams are full of it!
My life is one long prayer to God for him!
This mortal dread of fate, so stern and grim,
Is terrible! my dreams are full of it!
My life is one long prayer to God for him!
