Sunrise

THE clouds are withdrawnAnd their thin-rippled mist,That stream’d o’er the lawnTo the drowsy-eyed west.Cold and greyThey slept in the way,And shrank from the rayOf the chariot East:But now they are gone,And the bounding lightLeaps thro’ the barsOf doubtful dawn;Blinding the stars,And blessing the sight;Shedding delightOn all below;Glimmering fields,And wakening wealds,And rising lark,And meadows dark,And idle rills,And labouring mills,And far-distant hillsOf the fawn and the doe.The sun is cheeredAnd his path is cleared,As he steps to the airFrom his emerald cave,His heel in the wave,Most bright and bare;In the tide of the skyHis radiant hairFrom his temples fairBlown back on high;As forward he bends,And upward ascends,Timely and true,To the breast of the blue;His warm red lipsKissing the dew,Which sweetened dripsOn his flower cupholders;Every hueFrom his gleaming shouldersShining anewWith colour sky-born,As it washes and dipsIn the pride of the morn.Robes of azure,Fringed with amber,Fold upon foldOf purple and gold,Vine-leaf bloom,And the grape’s ripe gloom,When season deepIn noontide leisure,With clustering heapThe tendrils clamberFull in the faceOf his hot embrace,Fill’d with the gleamsOf his firmest beams.Autumn flushes,Roseate blushes,Vermeil tinges,Violet fringes,Every hueOf his flower cupholders,O’er the clear etherMingled together,Shining anewFrom his gleaming shoulders!Circling aboutIn a coronal rout,And floating behind,The way of the wind,As forward he bends,And upward ascends,Timely and true,To the breast of the blue.His bright neck curved,His clear limbs nerved,Diamond keenOn his front serene,While each white arm strainsTo the racing reins,As plunging, eyes flashing,Dripping, and dashing,His steeds triple grownRear up to his throne,Ruffling the restOf the sea’s blue breast,From his flooding, flaming crimson crest!