George F. Judd


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Twilight on the Veld

Descending night enfolds the lonely veld.
Soon from the purple background of the sky
The spangled jewels of Orion's Belt
Will shine amidst the starry canopy.
Deep and yet deeper grows the changing scene.
The dim recesses of the dreamy plain,
Wrapt in their endless solitude serene,
Faint and yet fainter from the vision wane.
A tense mysterious silence holds its sway;
And far beyond the distant mountains clear,
The passing glimpses of declining day
Now vanish,--and, the Afric night is here!
So Nature's lamps are lighted at the call
Of her, the handmaid of the God of all.