A darkness unrelieved, prevailed.

Out of the ambient depths of gloom,

Bereft of its accustomed bloom,

Came day-break, comfortless and gray.

Sped the nocturnal shades away,

Unveiling, with their winged retreat,

A twilight sad and incomplete.

Reluctantly, as dawn aspired,

The shadows lingered, then retired

As vanquished armies often yield