On the River at Night

THE city writes, in hieroglyphs of fire,
The story of her life;
Her stress of toil, her passion of desire,
Her ecstasy of strife.

Each night, on either margin of the stream,
Her page of flame unrolls ;
And all along the wave, with varied gleam,
She draws her jeweled scrolls.

Her soul’s appeal is flashed upon the night;
While, traced in mightier lines,
From clustered stars, in characters of light,
Some calm, great answer shines.

Marion Couthouy Smith.