Classic Poem

Sunset and mystery ,
Twilight and death ;
And the long thunder
Of arriving doom ...
The tree of Life has shatter'd all its leaves,
The book of Time is closed, the sand has run;
The gods have gather'd by the western sea, —
It is the gong-note of the Final Day.

The glorious gods have gather'd by the sea
To watch the darkness grow upon the sun,
Odin, Freya, Balder, and the rest
On lesser peaks, stand; and the winds arise.

The East is black, the West is crimson-stain'd,
A rhythmic thunder rolls upon the hills,
The sea moans' round and rises fretfully,
The purple mists climb to the waiting gods.

Lord Odin mounts and reins his sable steed,
And pois'd upon the upper precipice,
Flings forth the magic ring into the sea
Which quivers at the gift; the sun is out!

Plutonian darkness, — then one lightning flash,
And in the ghastly light, a mighty shout
As horse and rider leap into the sea! ...
Darkness entire — and rush of winds and seas...

The orbed world and all that therein is,
The ordered constellations of the sky,
The race of men, — all beauty, hope, and truth,
Love, life, and law, — all, all is dead!

Sunset and mystery ,
Twilight and death;
And the long anguish
Of the pregnant night ...