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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.