a pillar of fire by night, of cloud by day

 

  

The rocky ledge runs far into the sea,
   And on its outer point, some miles away,
The Lighthouse lifts its massive masonry,
   A pillar of fire by night, of cloud by day.

Even at this distance I can see the tides,
   Upheaving, break unheard along its base,
A speechless wrath, that rises and subsides
   In the white lip and tremor of the face.

And as the evening darkens, lo! how bright,
   Through the deep purple of the twilight air,
Beams forth the sudden radiance of its light
   With strange, unearthly splendor in the glare! 

 

 Excerpt from The Lighthouse by Henry Wadson Longfellow