Lo! in the painted oriel of the West,
Whose panes the sunken sun incarnadines,
Like a fair lady at her casement, shines
The evening star, the star of love and rest!
And then anon she doth herself divest
Of all her radiant garments, and reclines
Behind the sombre screen of yonder pines,
With slumber and soft dreams of love oppressed.
O my beloved, my sweet Hesperus!
My morning and my evening star of love!
My best and gentlest lady! even thus,
As that fair planet in the sky above,
Dost thou retire unto thy rest at night,
And from thy darkened window fades the light.
The poem was written at the request of a Miss Pinkham in 1873. According to his letter to Miss Pinkham, the poem as published was actually two different versions of the poem that were published together as one. Longfellow writes in his letter “I send you the sonnet in two forms. Please use the one you find best”. Then he proceeds to write the sonnets. What you see published is both as one.