When Evening Shadows Fall
By James Whitcomb Riley
When evening shadows fall,
She hangs her cares away
Like empty garments on the wall
That hides her from the day;
And while old memories throng,
And vanished voices call,
She lifts her grateful heart in song
When evening shadows fall.
Her weary hands forget
The burdens of the day.
The weight of sorrow and regret
In music rolls away;
And from the day's dull tomb,
That holds her in its thrall,
Her soul springs up in lily bloom
When evening shadows fall.
O weary heart and hand,
Go bravely to the strife -
No victory is half so grand
As that which conquers life!
One day shall yet be thine -
The day that waits for all
Whose prayerful eyes are things divine
When evening shadows fall.