Sombre the night is
And, though we have our lives, we know
What sinister threat lurks there
Dragging these anguished limbs, we only know
The brief opening line sets the ominous tone of the poem. The first word, “sombre” wouldn’t normally start the sentence. The unusual syntax gives emphasis to the pervasive dark fears, a device known as  anastrophe .
Returning We Hear the Larks