Timor Mortis
Joseph Bottum
| Death is the night watch The waiter, the wanter Death is the break The wake of the sleeping | death is the waker, the watcher of sleep. death is the breaker, the waking of sleep. |
| Down in the hole Down in the hole The frost on his fingers The blood of the sparrows | the creaker is turning. he starts up awake. cracks in his yearning. streaks on his face. |
| The flinch of the doe The twitch of the owl Death is the sudden The shudder, the stutter | as she drinks at the river, the flutter of mice: shrill in the shiver, the stand-still of night. |
| Down in the hole The belly, the bone-home Down in the hole The clutch of the bellman | the hunger is calling, the empty of earth. the sleeper is falling: the caller to church. |
| Death is the night watch The waiter, the wanter Death is the break The wake of the sleeping | death is the waker, the watcher of sleep. death is the breaker, the waking of sleep. |
