Here in the bitter dark by the stone bridge,
In fields made strange by night's black domino,
Emerge with leaping horror two great beasts;
Two fabled hippogriffs or dragons of the prime,
Conjured by deathless hate from prehistoric slime -
Forthright and fierce they rush, with thunderous feet
Beating a wild tantivy; fain to meet
And vent their dragon rage pent up from long ago -
Flames they are voiding; rage made manifest
By spitting sparks and hot envenomed breath
And eyes shot blood-lust red! See how they breast
The opposing slope! Here, down, and crouch to wait -
They'll make their mad encounter by this gate -
Cower and crouch : hark how the devils yell!
Now for the final frenzy that shall burst
The listening ear of night; down, out of sight!
Or we'll be blinded in the coming Hell!
- But what! Comes anti-climax next?
For see, the frenzied beasts have met, have passed;
Have slithered by each other without check or sign!
The fight is off! Fury and flame are fast
Failing and falling dim and out of sight,
Here on the left hand, here upon the right;
And naught at all has come of the immense
And quivering fury of their vehemence.
Their pantomime is played and night's real mystery
Settles more closely down to daunten me -
. A writhing something on the bank hard by
Tugs at a signal's arm; a signal's eye
From green glows scarlet, high above my head -
Come, let us home and hide ourselves in bed;
The night's uncanny and we will not think
Of those two noisy beasts, too crass to shrink
And slink in silence on their privy way-
They were but stupid trains, gravid with freight,
Who, one to east and one to west away,
Foolhardily rampage through these grim fields that wait
To make of such benighted things a prey.