| Higginson and Bigelow, comps. American Sonnets. 1891. | | | | Rizpah | | By James Benjamin Kenyon (1858–1924) |
| | | BLOWN through the gusty spaces of the night, | |
| The pale clouds fleet like ghosts along the sky; | |
| A fitful wind goes moaning feebly by, | |
| And the faint moon, poised o’er the craggy height, | |
| Dies in its own uncertain, misty light. | 5 |
| Within the hills the water springs are dry; | |
| The herbs are withered; and the sand wastes lie | |
| Dim, wide, and lonely to the weary sight. | |
| Behold! her awful vigil she will keep | |
| Through the wan night as through the burning day; | 10 |
| Though all the world should sleep she will not sleep, | |
| But watch, wild-eyed and fierce, to scare away, | |
| As round and round, with hoarse, low cries they creep, | |
| From her dead sons the hungry beasts of prey. | | | | |
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