Sonnet to the Evening Star Hail, sacred Light! that from the eastern skies Pride of the morn and glory of the night, O gracious star! whose flames serve all our eyes, The murmurs still of twilight’s gentle flight.

Thy gentle rays have set the skies aglow, And in thy radiance, all the world is seen, The thoughts of all the poets frame and flow As thou dost shine upon the evening green.

Let others seek their fame in days of sun, Fame’s fleeting shadows, lost in the fierce throng, But let my heart with thee entwined be one— For in thy light, I sing my humble song.

So steadfast shine until the morrow’s break, Alight our hearts and grant us dreams—which take!

• Michael Drayton