Asking the light of the stars for guidance: inspiration from a poem by Henry Wordsworth Longfellow.

Hello again, dear reader.

Today's conversation is going to be one of those short little meditative exhibits designed to help you look inside yourself and contemplate your place in the universe, and how to make that place even better. I came across this poem by Henry Wordsworth Longfellow. On one of my late-night forays into the forgotten literary corners of the Internet; and since we have been talking about being brave, heroic and being "Badass" in one form or another. In most of our recent conversations, this poem "the light of stars" for some strange reason, conjured up images of a lonely knight on a midnight watch. I felt as though this poem was a prayer to the universe for guidance. For that lonely knight and so dear reader I hope this poem will inspire you, should you find yourself looking for guidance on a lonely midnight watch...




The Light of Stars
From Voices of the Night, 1839
By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

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