I br br LEAGUERED in fire br The wild black promontories of the coast extend br Their savage silhouettes; br The sun in universal carnage sets, br And, halting higher, br The motionless storm-clouds mass their sullen threats, br Like an advancing mob in sword-points penned, br That, balked, yet stands at bay. br Mid-zenith hangs the fascinated day br In wind-lustrated hollows crystalline, br A wan valkyrie whose wide pinions shine br Across the ensanguined ruins of the fray, br And in her lifted hand swings high o'erhead, br Above the waste of war, br The silver torch-light of the evening star br Wherewith to search the faces of the dead.