Classic Poem

Night and darkness cover all
Heaven and earth, with cloudy pall
But the light comes in, and lo,
All the sky is in a glow! —
Christ has come, the star of day,
Night and darkness flee away!

Cloven by the piercing gleam
Of the daystar's rising beam,
Earth's long gloom is rent; and lo,
All creation is a-glow,
With the colours hither borne,
From the radiant lamp of morn!

Thee, O Christ, alone we know
Other suns are none below.
All the night to thee we cry,
Hear our tears, our song, our sigh.
Watch our senses through the night,
Keep us till the morning light.

Night's hues thickly round us lie,
Blotting earth and sea and sky;
Star of morning, send thy light,
Purge these deep-dyed stains of night,
Shew thy face, and, with its ray,
Shine these shadows into day!