Midnight

I have thrown wide my window
And looked upon the night,
And seen Arcturus burning
In chaos, proudly bright.

The powdered stars above me
Have littered heaven's floor--
A thousand I remember,
I saw a myriad more.

I have forgotten thousands,
For deep and deep between,
My mind built up the darkness
Of space, unheard, unseen.

I held my hands to heaven
To hold perfection there,
But through my fingers streaming
Went time, as thin as air;

And I must close my window
And draw a decent blind
To screen from outer darkness
The chaos of the mind.