Classic Poem

I have worked too long and my hands are tired,
Said the maker;
From the earliest dawn unto deepest nightfall
Have I laboured.

From the earliest dawn before any spirit
Stirred from sleeping,
When no single note from the frozen forest
Wakened music,

Unto nightfall and the new moon rising
When the silence
From the valleys rose in a faint blue spiral,
Have I laboured.

I created dawn and the new moon rising
Out of silence;
I have worked too long and my hands are tired,
Said the maker.

I shall fold my hands; I shall rest till sunrise,
Said the maker;
In the shade of hills and the calm of starlight
Shall I slumber.

O my night is sweet with a distant music!
I shall hear
The responding waves and the wind's slight murmur
While I slumber.

O my night is fair with amazing colour!
I shall dream
Of the blue-white stars and the glimmering forest
While I slumber.

O my night is rich with unfolding flowers!
I shall breathe
All the scattered smells of the field and garden
While I slumber...

I will rise, O Night, I will make new beauty,
Said the maker,
I will make more songs, more stars, more flowers,
Said the Lord.

Cambridge