George Willis Cooke, comp. The Poets of Transcendentalism: An Anthology. 1903.
The WhippoorwillJoel Benton (18321911)
I
I hear at the wood’s edge the whippoorwill’s
Quaint, plaintive-phrased, monotonous refrain,
Flooding with pathos vale and dell and plain.
He sings when the day’s choristry is done,
With palpitant burst of rhythm and iterant rhyme
Rich with the redolent grace of summer-time.
Recaller of our life’s youth-haloed dreams,
Brown portent that securely baffles sight,
Sacred to Wonder and Mysterious Night.
Are all thy notes and twilight-kissed retreats!
That song of rapture, weird yet exquisite,
Who shall explain—who try to fathom it?
Of dew-wet meadows, and the day’s surcease;
Of happy homes beyond that fast-closed door
Entombing childhood which returns no more.