I have loved wind and light,
And the bright sea,
But, holy and most secret Night,
Not as I love and have loved thee.
God, like all highest things,
Hides light in shade,
And in the night his visitings
To sleep and dreams are clearliest made.
Love, that knows all things well,
Loves the night best;
Joys whereof daylight dares not tell
Are his, and the diviner rest.
And Life, whom day shows plain
His prison-bars,
Feels the close walls and the hard chain
Fade when the darkness brings the stars.
