The Day is Now Dawning.

William.


The day is now dawning, love,
Fled is the night--
I go like the morning, love,
Cheerful and bright.
Then adieu, dearest Ellen:
When evening is near,
I'll visit thy dwelling,
For true love is here.


Ellen.


Oh, come where the fountain, love,
Tranquilly flows;
Beneath the green mountain, love,
Seek for repose;
There the days of our childhood,
In love's golden beam,
'Mong the blue-bells and wildwood,
Passed on like a dream.


William.


Oh, linger awhile, love!


Ellen.


            I must away.


William.


Oh, grant me thy smile, love,
'Tis Hope's cheering ray--
With evening expect me.


Ellen.


To the moment be true,
And may angels protect thee--


Both.


Sweet Ellen, adieu!
Dear William, adieu!

George Pope Morris

George Pope Morris was an American editor, poet, and songwriter. Born on October 10, 1802, he made significant contributions to American literature and music. Morris co-founded and edited the New York Evening Mirror, where he published works by Edgar Allan Poe and others. He is perhaps best known for his song "Woodman, Spare That Tree!" and his role in the early 19th-century literary scene. Morris died on July 6, 1864, leaving behind a legacy of editorial and creative work that influenced many American writers and musicians.

George Pope Morris

The Suitors.

George Pope Morris, Simple Poetry

Funeral Hymn.

George Pope Morris, Simple Poetry

Twenty Years Ago

George Pope Morris, Simple Poetry

The Cottager's Welcome.

George Pope Morris, Simple Poetry

English

Suggested Poems

Explore a curated selection of verses that share themes, styles, and emotional resonance with the poem you've just read.

Well-A-Day!

Love comes and goes like a spell!
How, no one knows, nor can tell!
Now here--now there--then away!
None dreameth where!--Well-a-day!

Love should be true as the star
Seen in the blue sky afar!--
Not here--now there--like the lay
Of lutes in th' air!--Well-a-day!

Should love depart, not a tie
Binds up the heart till we die!--
Now here--now there--sad we stray
Life is all care!--Well-a-day!

George Pope Morris

From The Upland To The Sea.

Shall we wake one morn of spring,
Glad at heart of everything,
Yet pensive with the thought of eve?
Then the white house shall we leave,
Pass the wind-flowers and the bays,
Through the garth, and go our ways,
Wandering down among the meads
Till our very joyance needs
Rest at last; till we shall come
To that Sun-god's lonely home,
Lonely on the hill-side grey,
Whence the sheep have gone away;
Lonely till the feast-time is,
When with prayer and praise of bliss,
Thither comes the country side.
There awhile shall we abide,
Sitting low down in the porch
By that image with the torch:
Thy one white hand laid upon
The black pillar that was won
From the far-off Indian mine;
And my hand nigh touching thine,
But not touching; and thy gown

William Morris

Tis Now the Promised Hour. A Serenade.

The fountains serenade the flowers,
    Upon their silver lute--
And, nestled in their leafy bowers,
    The forest-birds are mute:
The bright and glittering hosts above
    Unbar their golden gates,
While Nature holds her court of love,
    And for her client waits.
Then, lady, wake--in beauty rise!
    'Tis now the promised hour,
When torches kindle in the skies
    To light thee to thy bower.
The day we dedicate to care--
    To love the witching night;
For all that's beautiful and fair
    In hours like these unite.
E'en thus the sweets to flowerets given--
    The moonlight on the tree--
And all the bliss of earth and heaven--
    Are mingled, love, in thee.
Then, lady, wake--in beauty rise!
    'Tis now the promised hour,
Wh...

George Pope Morris

The Message Of The March Wind.

Fair now is the springtide, now earth lies beholding
With the eyes of a lover, the face of the sun;
Long lasteth the daylight, and hope is enfolding
The green-growing acres with increase begun.

Now sweet, sweet it is through the land to be straying
'Mid the birds and the blossoms and the beasts of the field;
Love mingles with love, and no evil is weighing
On thy heart or mine, where all sorrow is healed.

From township to township, o'er down and by tillage
Fair, far have we wandered and long was the day;
But now cometh eve at the end of the village,
Where over the grey wall the church riseth grey.

There is wind in the twilight; in the white road before us
The straw from the ox-yard is blowing about;
The moon's rim is rising, a star glitters o'er us,

William Morris

To The Evening Star.

The woods waved welcome in the breeze,
    When, many years ago,
Lured by the songs of birds and bees,
    I sought the dell below;
And there, in that secluded spot,
    Where silver streamlets roved,
Twined the green ivy round the cot
    Of her I fondly loved.

In dreams still near that porch I stand
    To listen to her vow!
Still feel the pressure of her hand
    Upon my burning brow!
And here, as in the days gone by,
    With joy I meet her yet,
And mark the love-light of her eyes,
    Fringed with its lash of jet.

O fleeting vision of the past!
    From memory glide away!
Ye were too beautiful to last,
    Too good to longer stay!
But why, attesting evening star,
    This sermon sad recall:
"THAN LOVE AND LOSE 'TI...

George Pope Morris

Cor Cordium - O Golden Day! O Silver Night!

O golden day! O silver night!
    That brought my own true love at last,
Ah, wilt thou drop from out our sight,
    And drown within the past?

One wave, no more, in life's wide sea,
    One little nameless crest of foam,
The day that gave her all to me
    And brought us to our home.

Nay, rather as the morning grows
    In flush, and gleam, and kingly ray,
While up the heaven the sun-god goes,
    So shall ascend our day.

And when at last the long night nears,
    And love grows angel in the gloam,
Nay, sweetheart, what of fears and tears? -
    The stars shall see us home.

Richard Le Gallienne