Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, ed. Poems of Places: An Anthology in 31 Volumes.
Asia: Vols. XXI–XXIII. 1876–79. | | | | Syria: Bethlehem | | Song of the Angels | | Edmund Hamilton Sears (1810–1876) |
| | | CALM on the listening ear of night | |
| Come Heaven’s melodious strains, | |
| Where wild Judæa stretches far | |
| Her silver-mantled plains! | |
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| Celestial choirs, from courts above, | 5 |
| Shed sacred glories there; | |
| And angels, with their sparkling lyres, | |
| Make music on the air. | |
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| The answering hills of Palestine | |
| Send back the glad reply; | 10 |
| And greet, from all their holy heights, | |
| The dayspring from on high. | |
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| On the blue depths of Galilee | |
| There comes a holier calm, | |
| And Sharon waves, in solemn praise, | 15 |
| Her silent groves of palm. | |
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| “Glory to God!” the sounding skies | |
| Loud with their anthems ring; | |
| Peace to the earth, good-will to men, | |
| From heaven’s Eternal King! | 20 |
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| Light on thy hills, Jerusalem! | |
| The Saviour now is born! | |
| And bright on Bethlehem’s joyous plains | |
| Breaks the first Christmas morn. | | | | |
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