Deep in the gloom the torches glowed,
In the evening hour;
We grew to perceive a candle flame,
A flickering oil wick,
Then the arc lamp's modest power.
Steadier now, and brighter far,
Vision leaps to the nearest star.
No idle dream nor restless urge
Has brought us here.
Steady and sure, the thoughts we purged
Pushed back the darkness, also fear,
And limitations that would keep
Us in a candle-lighted peace,
Away from God-expressed power;
From that one most glorious hour
Of no darkness, of no fright.
Always now, "Let there be light!"
