A blanket of black enveloped the earth.
Even the light of the coals on the hearth
Had diminished themselves to nothing but ash
And only the stars with their luminous flash
Gave hope to the world that light had not gone
And would come with a glow at the breaking of dawn.

The kingdom of Dark held its court in the sky;
Ruling supreme it blinded the eye.
And all of its subjects did fear it would reign
Eternal. Yet chanted a hopeful refrain.
Yes, the murk seemed eternal and needless to say
It sang out this message, yet hope did not sway
That soon in the non-ceasing passage of time
This kingdom would fall, as the ring of a chime
Falls on deaf ears of those in a tomb:
Light would soon come as a babe from the womb.

The stiletto-like stabs of the stars shone strong,
Quietly whispering that it would not be long
Till the forces of dark would no longer hold sway
And the burgeoning light would welcome the day.
But were the stars, like prophets of doom
Mistakenly calling an end to the gloom?
For night and its darkness still lingered on;
It even grew darker. All light had gone
Except for those stars, like sparkling spies
Maintained their hope and refused to die.

Then - a minion of darkness gazed toward the East
And saw something swelling like newly warmed yeast.
It was light! And gently pushing the curtain of dark
To come in glory - as keen as the bark
Of a dog rising stiff and cold in the morn
To welcome the light of the day newly born.