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THE NIGHT is come, but not too soon;
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And sinking silently,
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All silently, the little moon
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Drops down behind the sky.
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There is no light in earth or heaven
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5
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But the cold light of stars;
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And the first watch of night is given
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To the red planet Mars.
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Is it the tender star of love?
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The star of love and dreams?
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10
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Oh no! from that blue tent above
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A hero’s armor gleams.
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And earnest thoughts within me rise,
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When I behold afar,
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Suspended in the evening skies,
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15
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The shield of that red star.
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O star of strength! I see thee stand
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And smile upon my pain;
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Thou beckonest with thy mailed hand,
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And I am strong again.
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20
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Within my breast there is no light
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But the cold light of stars;
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I give the first watch of the night
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To the red planet Mars.
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The star of the unconquered will,
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25
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He rises in my breast,
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Serene, and resolute, and still,
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And calm, and self-possessed.
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And thou, too, whosoe’er thou art,
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That readest this brief psalm,
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30
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As one by one thy hopes depart,
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Be resolute and calm.
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Oh, fear not in a world like this,
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And thou shalt know erelong,
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Know how sublime a thing it is
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35
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To suffer and be strong.
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