Finis Coronat Opus

Slumber heavy shuts my eyes, Summoning the dark That deepest sleep will soon provide To rest the mind and heart. Yet darkness ‘round my mind does not  Very long embrace; For soon descends from land of Nod A pixie's curious face. Waft I up on waves of mist, Lifted by the fae Amid the stars and pixie dust, I drift, in dreams, away. Such vivid lands and creatures fair I visit in those dreams, In kingdoms vast, in goblins’ lair, In forests evergreen. And when the night is close to dawn, I to my pillow drift On pixie dust and robin’s song, Back from my slumber’s gift.

After twilight’s slowly fallen, And the nightingale’s asleep, As the stars emerge in heaven,  With their ethereal winks; Silence rests while Earth does slumber, Like the calm before a rain, Yet, with no carousing thunder Breaking solace o’er and again. Now the minds that stress and chatter May in starlight gain repose; And the thoughts that seldom matter Drift away like dying rose. Such a silence, in the darkness, Calms the weariness of day, And to gaze on heavens boundless Chases all one’s gloom away.

Lazy summer morning dawns Bright and cheery; sparrows sing, In the golden rays there fawn Young and lively things. Gaze I on from cushioned seat Of verdant carpet, in the sun, Richest grasses ‘neath my feet, Watching squirrels run. Sitting ‘mid the lively things On this restful summer morn, Eases mind, and quiet brings, After storms are borne.

In distant land, where magic dwells, ‘Neath mountain river’s swell, By wizened oak and muscadine There fairies hidden thrive. When morning sunlight peeks around The shadows on the ground, And sends his rays through window panes Of dew drops, then awake The pixies, sparkling, from their sleep, And happy dreams so deep; Flit they about on glittering wings Clad in the deepest green. Many tasks the fairies have At the dawn of day;  Placing dew on spiders’ lace, And opening flowers gay. Soon the mountain vale is bright, And color meets the sight Of all who wander through those hills Where hidden pixies dwell.

Summer’s evening’s set again, Now in the twilight dim, Sit I ‘neath the twinkling lights That herald deepening night. Points of gold and white, they wink, Through the darkness bleak; Perhaps the stars in heaven’s height Find mirth in twinkling bright. A darting glint escapes my eye, But more begin to fly; The starlight cold from mantle dark Meets dancing yellow sparks. Like waltzes grand, the lights above Shine steady, leading smooth, While those below all sway and whirl, And pirouette, and twirl. So sit I thus in nightfall’s gloom That sunlight has eschewed, And witness such delightful dance The fireflies enchant.

Westward leads forsaken path beneath the sunset’s tread, Where men of old had ventured forth, their borders large to spread; Long months they passed, exploring darkest forests, driest plains, To seek a future that would long remain. Ruins mark their fated path through wildernesses vast, And graves of many fallen men the traveler must all pass; Yet found the few survivors such a land that they had dreamed For longest decades home that it would be. Such sacrifices gallant and such spirits bold and true, Must stir the hearts of all those now whose fates would thus imbue A future where advent’rous souls may venture forth again, And plant their valiant names throughout the lands.

In the twilight’s misty evening, As the world slips into dreaming, Thoughts at liberty do tread ‘Round the paths inside my head, Stamping out the day that’s past ’Til sleep puts them to rest at last. Every word that broke a silence, Every phrase, in peace or violence, Lives anew; I see again Things I said, and how, and when. Play they on, in mocking tones, And I must all them face, alone. Thus, so cursed, I wait the morning, And the glorious sunlight dawning, When my thoughts no longer seem To harp on such, incessantly, But rather think on matters light, Of happiness, and deeds aright.