From Noon to Starry Night

    THOU ORB¹ ALOFT FULL-DAZZLING

    THOU orb full-dazzling！ thou hot October noon！

    Flooding with sheeny light the gray beach sand，

    The sibilant near sea with vistas² far and foam³，

    And tawny⁴ streaks⁵ and shades and spreading blue；

    O sun of noon refulgent⁶！ my special word to thee.

    Hear me illustrious！

    Thy lover me， for always I have loved thee，

    Even as basking⁷ babe， then happy boy alone by some

    wood edge， thy touching-distant beams enough，

    Or man matured， or young or old， as now to thee I

    launch my invocation.

    （Thou canst not with thy dumbness me deceive，

    I know before the fitting man all Nature yields，

    Though answering not in words， the skies， trees，

    hear his voice - and thou O sun，

    As for thy throes， thy perturbations， sudden breaks

    and shafts⁸ of flame gigantic，

    I understand them， I know those flames， those

    perturbations well.）

    Thou that with fructifying⁹ heat and light，

    O'er myriad¹⁰ farms， o'er lands and waters North

    and South，

    O'er Mississippi's endless course， o'er Texas'

    grassy¹¹ plains， Kanada's woods，

    O'er all the globe that turns its face to thee shining

    in space，

    Thou that impartially¹² infoldest all， not only continents，

    seas，

    Thou that to grapes and weeds and little wild

    flowers givest so liberally，

    Shed， shed thyself on mine and me， with but a fleeting¹³

    ray out of thy million millions，

    Strike though these chants.

    Nor only launch thy subtle dazzle and thy strength

    for these，

    Prepare the later afternoon of me myself -

    prepare my lengthening¹⁴ shadows，

    Prepare my starry¹⁵ nights.