Morning Mass at a Monastery: A Shakespearean sonnet

The cool night air that comes before the dawn A host of sweet scents bears; the stars above Do lend their beauty ere the night is gone And light the way to Him who holds my love. At dawn the sunrise bathes the world in light The wooded hills in grey and gold it shows; I walk this gravel road and take delight As God's creation 'fore my dim eyes glows. The birdsong fades, and chanting fills my ears The smell of wood and incense calms my soul: Then silence as the priest of ag`ed years Begins the rites, eyes fix'd on heav'nly goal. The Mass is done; I kneel, I gaze, am still: Then, fortified, rise up to do His will.