Pitch black devours all,

Like a beast holding its breath.

Time's ancient lord stirs beneath—

Earth trembles at his whisper.

Midnight bleeds its final hour,

Dark ink dissolving in dawn's water.

The sky, not yet golden,

Wears twilight's tender blue

Like a bruise healing.

Light stalks the horizon,

A proud warrior claiming territory,

Each ray a spear through shadow.

Mountains bow their heads in worship.

Sleep, that fickle mistress,

Dances away from heavy lids,

A child playing hide-and-seek

Among dreams' fading echoes.

The sun emerges victorious—

A molten crown above the world.

Darkness retreats to cave-mouths,

To basement corners, to closed eyes,

Its fingers leaving trails of shade.

But light's triumph bears thorns:

Merciless heat strips secrets bare,

Exposing every buried truth

In stark, unforgiving clarity.

We sweat, we shield, we remember

The gentle mercy of night.