And looked upon the night,
And saw the westward-going stars
Pass slowly out of sight.

"Slowly the bright procession
Went down the gleaming arch,
And my soul discerned the music
Of the long triumphal march;

"Till the great celestial army,
Stretching far beyond the poles,
Became the eternal symbol
Of the mighty march of souls.

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"Onward, forever onward,
Red Mars led on his clan;
And the moon, like a mailèd maiden,
Was riding in the van.

"And some were bright in beauty,
And some were faint and small,
But these might be, in their great heights,
The noblest of them all.

"Downward, forever downward,
Behind earth's dusky shore,
They passed into the unknown night--
They passed, and were no more.