Western Star Poem by William Crafts

Observe, my love, yon western star,
Just sinking in the shades of night;
To-morrow it will see me far
From thee, more lovely than its light!

Ah! wilt thou ever think of me,
As sweetly shines its silver ray;
And wilt thou wake the song, to see
If it can reach me far away.

Oh! let bright Hesper be the glass,
Reflecting all our joy and woe;
How quick thy gilded moments pass!
My dull and dreary hours, how slow.

Thy hopes and wishes there exprest,
Shall ever rule my constant heart;
While the sad doubts that break my rest,
Its painful kindness will impart.

And when affection faintly gleams,
With lustre trembling to expire,
O! may it shine with brighter beams,
And re-illume love's genial fire.

And may it never hear a vow,
Which I would not rejoice to hear:
And may it never see a smile,
Which on my cheek would cause a tear.

Here would I sing thy matchless charms,
Thy sparkling eye, and front so fair:
These erst I saw with soft alarms,
These now I leave in sad despair.

But who can speak what most they feel,
The tender heart so sways the mind;
Down the soft cheek the tear may steal,
But thought no utterance can find.

Yet will I ever think of thee,
In hour of woe, in hour of glee,
To thee alone will give,
My sweetest smile, my saddest tear,
My earliest vow, my latest prayer,
While this fond heart shall live.