When Stars are in the quiet skies,
Then most I pine for Thee;
Bend on me then Thy tender eyes,
As Stars look on the Sea!
For thoughts, like waves that glide by night,
Are stillest when they shine;
Mine earthly Love lies hush’d in light
Beneath the heaven of Thine.
There is an hour when angels keep
Familiar watch o’er men,
When coarser souls are wrapp’d in sleep-
Sweet spirit, meet me then!
There is an hour when holy dreams
Through slumber fairest glide;
And in that mystic hour it seems
Thou shouldst be by my side.
My thoughts of Thee too sacred are
For daylight’s common beam:
I can but know Thee as my Star,
My angel and my dream;
When Stars are in the quiet skies,
Then most I pine for Thee;
Bend on me then Thy tender eyes,
As Stars look on the Sea!
“When Stars Are in the Quiet Skies”
Edward Bulwer-Lytton (1803–1873)
Photo: “Star Maiden” by Alexander Stirling Calder
California USA Crocker Art Museum – Sacramento
Alexander Stirling Calder (1870 – 1945) was an American sculptor and teacher. His best known works are George Washington as President on the Washington Square Arch in New York City, the Swann Memorial Fountain in Philadelphia, and the Leif Eriksson Memorial in Reykjavík, Iceland.
