Comet and Other Verses — Twin Lake

In the Wayne Highlands The shadows fall on Twin Lake fair As crimson sets the Autumn sun;

A holy hush is on the air Of eventide and day is done.

No zephyrs kiss the little lake;

So still and calm is either shore, That on her face dim shadows wake And deepen ever more and more.

And where the long-leaf laurels grow A cuckoo sounds the hour of rest, And fondly answering far below Its mate is calling from her nest.

Now comes the twilight, calm and still, And, with a cloak of sable hue, Half hides the lake and upland hill That faint and fainter fades from view.

And through the broken web of night Each stalwart star with even ray Reflects upon the lake a light To guide a boatman on his way.

And soon the massive moon doth ride Athwart the pine trees' heavy shade, That doth her fiery chariot hide, As an apparent halt is made.

And sweetly from a maiden fair In yon canoe that skirts the shore A laugh rings out upon the air And echoes softly o'er and o'er Till dying on the distant hill, An evening silence settles far,-- A quietness, so calm, so still, With rising moon and silent star--