J.B. Toner
The sun! A million bird-hymns split the skies, His crimson halo sanctifies the peaks, Flings green on grass and blue on babbling creeks, The violets open dew-bespangled eyes, The shadows spring away in swift surprise, Bright clouds rush outwards, galleons white and sleek, A merry day his golden beams bespeak, And azure oriflammes proclaim his rise. The restless specters of the fearful night With elvish smiles unmask themselves as trees; The beauty of the earth, once hid from sight, Stands veilless, to be seen with joyful ease— And I who doubted God’s returning light Fall penitent and laughing to my knees.