Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). An American Anthology, 1787–1900. 1900.

By James NaumbergRosenberg

1717 Darkness

OFT have I stood upon the foaming strand

Watching the moonlight tremble on the sea;

Oft have I seen the stars fade silently

When gleaming dawn drove night across the land;

Oft have I watched the storm lift o’er the sand

The ocean in his might and majesty;

Now are these joys a mockery to me

Since on mine eyes, God, Thou hast laid Thine Hand.

Have I too much exulted in the light,

Forgetting Thee from whom these glories rise,

That Thou hast struck me with this darkling blight,

Robbed me of day and of the sunny skies,

Transforming them into continuous night,—

Is it for this that Thou hast shut mine eyes?