The Storm Hath Passed

The storm hath pass’d by, like an angry cloud
Which sweeps o’er the brow of the azure heaven;
The sun and the earth to its sway hath bow’d,
And each radiant beam from the scene been driven.
All hail to the smile of the cloudless sky!
All hail to the sun as he rides on high!
All hail to the heavens’ ethereal blue,
And to nature, when deck’d in her own lovely hue!
It hath pass’d! the storm, like a giant form,
Which summons the winds from their tempest cave;
Which opens a grave in each ocean wave,
And wraps the world in its shroud of gloom.
Oh! welcome the smile of the gladden’d earth!
And welcome the voice of the wood-bird’s mirth!
And welcome these varying hues which delight
Like dawn at the close of a wearisome night.
The clouds have pass’d, with the shadows they cast,
And hush’d is the sound of the wind-god’s power,
And his deep, wild blast, as the tempest pass’d
Which rang on the ear at the midnight hour.
Oh! welcome the soft, balmy zephyrs of spring!
And welcome the perfumes they silently bring!
And the rosy-tinged cloudlets that gracefully glide
O’er the fair brow of heaven in beauty and pride!
It hath fled in its night, the dark spirit of night,
Which cast such a shade o’er the light of the soul;
It hath fled and died, while the sunset beam
From its surface triumphantly backward shall roll.
Oh! welcome the smiles of a gladden’d heart!
And welcome the joy which those smiles impart!
And welcome the light of that sparkling eye
Which tells that the storm in its dread hath pass’d by!