At Midnight's Hour I Raised My Head

by Henry David Thoreau

At midnight's hour I raised my head
The owls were seeking for their bread
The foxes barked impatient still
At their wan fate they bear so ill—
I thought me of eternities delayed
And of commands but half obeyed—
The night wind rustled through the glade
As if a force of men there staid
The word was whispered through the ranks
And every hero seized his lance
The word was whispered through the ranks
    Advance.


Monadnock Valley Press > Thoreau