The sun burns in golden yearning,

But frets with fainter hand;
So broken are its banners;
In darkness creeps the land.

Ships beckon in the dimness;
Their echoes haunt the land.
The birds have ceased their singing;
The night watch is at hand.

Gathering in the twilight
The sea broods in graying bands;
Forsaken are her colors;
With darkness she greets the land.

Workmen linger o'er their crops;
Dusk seeps throughout their land.

The birds have ceased their singing;
The night watch is at hand.

The earth lies soft and yielding
And offers with a sigh
Her fields to waiting darkness
To greet the pale moon by.

The night flares soft and subtle
And smooths in supple bands
Her cloak in marbled stillness
To rest upon the land.

The stars emerge but faintly,
Then clot like creamy sand.
The birds have ceased their singing;
The night watch is at hand.

The moon swoops in tardy grace,
The fullness of her light,
To touch night's cloak with silver
And rule the lofty night.

The stars have com'enc'd their singing;
Peace rests upon the land.

Author Bio

Pat Fredeman has published numerous poems and some short, non-fiction pieces in various literary journals and magazines. She has done editorial work, given poetry readings, taught university literature and creative writing courses, and conducted community workshop courses for the regional branch of the National League of American Pen Women, of which she is a member. She has degrees from the University of British Columbia (M.A.) and the University of Oklahoma (B.A.[Phi Beta Kappa], Ph.D.[magna cum laude], Dissertation: Ben Jonson.

Ms. Fredeman's Christian Romance Paradise Regained is available from Gemini Books. Pat has recently completed a contemporary romance and a fantasy novelette and she tells us she is currently working on another novel.

"Doors",
"Space Without Doors",
"The Connoisseur",
"Imagine"
"On the Authenticity of the Cat"
"Pumpkin"

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