Twilight falls, hope flees the heart.
Temples collapse, things fall apart
as day departs.

Poisons black, embers red,
yellow rage – lights mist and fade:
dusk’s brewing shade.

Sultry, brooding storm clouds break.
Dark powers hurl forked lightning, shake
the night awake.

Passions, staggering drunkenness.
Chains, whips, stubborn mindlessness.
Night’s heavy breath.

Gloomy struggles, fights unrestrained.
Broken hearts, limbs cramped, constrained –
no end of pain.

Vacant glitter, void grotesque.
Strife, envy, toxic heaviness –
the Snake’s bequest.

Misunderstandings, venoms stirred.
Quarreling brothers, confusion of words –
minds are blurred.

Hardened souls and bitter fears,
prayers sent upward with fierce tears.
Morning nears.

Now hope glimmers through the dark.
A faint beam meets us from afar:
the morning star,

while o’er the chaos of the night,
burns with judging, saving light
the sunshine bright.

Illusions lift and disappear –
gone at last all bonds, all fear:
dawn breaks here.

Oars swing in rhythm, ripples gleam.
’Neath flower garlands, faces beam
as sunlight streams.

Peace smiles, and before our eyes,
truth unites, joy purifies:
God’s day draws nigh.

Poisons yield like falling chains.
Joy abounds, free and unfeigned.
The Lord now reigns.
Sannerz, spring 1923