Lunar Paraphrase

The moon is the mother of pathos and pity.

When, at the wearier end of November,
Her old light moves along the branches,
Feebly, slowly, depending upon them;
When the body of Jesus hangs in a pallor,
Humanly near, and the figure of Mary,
Touched on by hoar--frost, shrinks in a shelter
Made by the leaves, that have rotted and fallen;

When over the houses, a golden illusion
Brings back an earlier season of quiet
And quieting dreams in the sleepers in darkness--


The moon is the mother of pathos and pity
.