Ah, Be Not False

Ah, be not false, sweet Splendor!
Be true, be good;
Be wise as thou art tender;
Be all that Beauty should.

Not lightly be thy citadel subdued;
Not ignobly, not untimely.
Take praise in solemn mood;
Take love sublimely.

More poems by Richard Watson Gilder

“Great Nature is an army gay”

Great Nature is an army gay,
Resistless marching on its way;
I hear the bugles clear and sweet, …
A Child

Her voice was like the song of birds;
Her eyes were like the stars;
Her little waving hands were like …
After-Song

Through love to light! Oh wonderful the way
That leads from darkness to the perfect day!
From darkness and from sorrow of the night …
Dawn

THE Night was dark, though sometimes a faint star
A little while a little space made bright.
The night was long and like an iron bar …