Snowstorm

All through the night I could not sleep for waking

At every pleading of the wind's distress,

And hearing cedars breaking, breaking, breaking,

Heaped with too much of crystal loveliness.

Along the lane they knelt like nuns in prayer,

Like rosaries they told the hours of night;

And still the snow's white petals thundered there

Like dust of meteors quivering and white.

How could I sleep with so much beauty falling,

A rain of stars upon the frozen ground,

The night wind hungry as a wolf, and calling

For shelter that is sought but never found-

I who have seen how snowflakes break apart

The cedar boughs, as beauty breaks the heart!