Stars

Eternal watch-fires on the walls of Heaven!
     What time o’er earth ye rain your mystic light,
     While wake the spirits of the shadowy night,
Filling the air with whispers—is there given
     A spell of power unto you, that ye bind
     Unholy thoughts and passions, till the mind
Asserts its mastery, and gives new might
To every holy feeling? Still and bright,
     Ye burn for ever in your home above;
And the pale star-beams wander to the earth,
     As angels sent on embassies of love—
To holy aspirations giving birth,
And telling of a better world than this,
Where, pure from every taint, the spirit dwells in bliss!