The Dawn

I’m up and dressed while yet the World
Is fast asleep in bed;
Ofttimes I wear a skirt of blue,
And ofttimes ruby red;
About my waist I tie a sash
Of golden streamers gay.
And o’er my shoulders throw a scarf
Of fleecy clouds of gray;
Upon my head I place a crown
Of opal rays of light.
And as the Moon and Stars behold,
They quickly take their flight!
I carry in my hands joy-beams,
To scatter on my way;
And when I waken birds and flowers,
They echo back, “Tis day!”
Behind me comes the amber Sun, –
Each morn he gives me chase.
But never has he caught me yet
In swift Aurora’s race!