A cross-way in a solitude of pines;

And on the lonely cross-way you must draw

A bloody circle with a bloody sword;

And round the circle, runic characters,

Weird and symbolic: here a skull, and there

A scythe, and cross-bones, and an hour-glass here:

And in the centre, fed with coffin-wood,

Stolen from the grave of—say a murderer,

A fitful fire. Eleven of the clock

The first ball leaves the mold—the sullen lead