The Light Eterne

"The sun moves ever West," they said,
            "And streams the ocean toward."
But on the day that they were wed,
            They gave their solemn word

Their love...for even suns burn out...
            Would sun and time outburn,
Hyperion's finite race outlast,
            Secure, unmoved, eterne.

They watched the heav'nly ensign dim,
            The red flag struck and furled;
They watched the banners of the Night
            O'ertake a silent world.

They turned their fear-surprised eyes
            Upon each other's gaze,
And sought some lasting, living spark
            Among the dying rays.

Then serpent Night eclipsed the day,
            And total darkness fell,
No ebon dark this blank eclipse,
            The zero blank of Hell!

But as a serpent sheds its skin
            And lives, immortal beast,
Immortal Light will shed its Night,
            Returning in the East.

And as the sun regained the sky,
            Pure Light's immortal gem,
In lovers' eyes two lovers shone,
            Two lovers...but not them.