Classic Poem

Fading, still fading, the last beam is shining;
‘Ave, Maria,’ day is declining;
Safety and innocence fly with the light,
Temptation and danger walk forth with the night;
From the fall of the shade till the matin shall chime,
Shield us from danger and save us from crime:
‘Ave, Maria; audi nos.’

‘Ave, Maria,’ hear when we call,
Mother of him who is Brother to all;
Feeble and failing, we trust in thy might;
In doubting and darkness thy love be our light;
Let us sleep on thy breast, while the night-taper burns;
And wake in thine arms, when the morning returns:
‘Ave, Maria; audi nos.’