Faint rays that glow crepuscular,
A piercing shriek, the witches wail;
Nocturnal cloak of gloaming pure,
Enshrouds the world so sick and frail. 

A disembodied phantom leers
Awake, forlorn at witching hour;
Hallucinations yet opaque,
Lips taciturn, contortions foul.

O’ wretched man, O’ corpse of death!
Somnambulistic wanderings
Through life, the choking serpent’s breath
That lusts for Eden’s conjuring.

That Fate alone should hold such pow’r,
Where Zeus and Hera bow effete;
A hyssop potion sweet and sour
Of non-existence, final sleep.