“So let me be thy choir, and make a moan 

Upon the midnight hours.”

This line is taken from John Keats’s (1795-1821) poem “Ode to Psyche” (1820). Here, the poet speaks to the goddess Psyche with deep love and devotion. He asks her to let him be her choir. Choir means her singer or worshipper. He wants to sing for her during the midnight hours, the quiet time of prayer and reflection.

Keats knows that Psyche has no worshippers, no music, and no songs in her honour. So he wishes to become her only devotee. His song will not be loud or joyful. It will be soft and full of feeling. The word “moan” means a gentle, sorrowful sound. It shows the poet’s tender love and sadness for the forgotten goddess.

The phrase “midnight hours” gives a calm and holy feeling. It is a time