Dark beauty, Op. 42

One of these days! As above earth a greying haze,
Shall fume into Babylon some luminous blaze;
When shrill-spitting and shrieking sparks,
Shall leave the host of their ember-arks;
And purplish upon skyblue will scrawl,
Apocalypse's various and detailed spawn;
And when riders four upon horses fare,
To elucidate the causes of wordly nightmare;
Then yon god-engines of fire, flame and war,
You bet, I'll observe from some distant star.

The name of inferno is red, red; So let's spin;
Imagine that some malevolent and mischievous djinn,
I shall upon this white-wash, for pleasure paint;
See there, this is her mark and her scarlet taint,
Where the ocean shall yet with a satiated chord,
Shift-shape and boil upon her word;
And where all the element-spirit of fiery grief,
Shall shed and throw about the weighty flame-leaf;
And when done; will but winter's hoar,
Still inhabit the city over yon ashen shore.

Wait and seek! You joyous, avaricious things,
Lust and gloat over the ashes much ember brings;
Oh you greedy and wicked fire-men,
Suppose a ragnarok's just a matter of when;
Yet however much I doubt we'll die,
Make sure to spectate within a safer sky.