23 Dec When the Abyss Gives Up Its Dead

When the Abyss gives up its dead
And Hades, Gehenna as well,
When candlewicks smolder cold,
When the stars, the mountains fell —

Hear the sound of the dolorous wedding bell

They recall the birth of a Child tender
And still now wait to judgments render
Knowing there shall be no turn-backs
Alas! no return-to-sender

See the vision of the dreaded cloud-rise

— When the rivers meet ocean waves
Mingled all before our eyes
Where the Babe as Man spares from us
Where the worm never dies.