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.