The Vanished Night God be with the night that’s gone! Long the day it ushered in; If ever I be crucified Tonight my torments should begin. A pair within this house tonight Have secrets that their eyes express. Long, ah long the looks they mingle As though they lingered in a kiss! Silence is what tells the tale Of the love their lips conceal Why should silence seek to veil Secrets that the eyes reveal? O eyes I love, the mockers’ tongues Have kept me silent in your sight, But look in mine! They cry aloud The words I whispered in the night. “Keep tomorrow night for me! “Could we but always live this way! “Do not let the morning see! “Sweetheart, rise! Shut out the day!” Virgin Mary, gentle nurse, Patron of lovers, from your throne Look on us and lend us aid—- God be with the night that’s gone! Niall MacMurray Source: O'Connor, Frank (tr); Kings, Lords, & Commons: An Anthology from the Irish; 1962; London; Macmillan & Co; p.67