Bonta's short poem takes the idea of a "war on darkness" and gives it a sharp, slightly sour edge. The first lines sound like a call to arms: people rush "up and to war," but the god they serve is "a god of business." The suggestion is that this battle against the night, against dimness and shadow, is driven less by noble purpose than by commerce. Think of lights burning around the clock, work and shopping that never switch off.
The second stanza turns to people. "Man's hands stay the night" can be read two ways: hands that stay busy through the night, or hands that hold the night back, stopping it. Either way, darkness becomes "our common nuisance," something we all treat as an irritation to be removed. The speaker doesn't shout about this. The tone is dry and detached, which makes it unsettling. The mood is cool, wary and quietly critical, as if the speaker sees something lost in our refusal to let the dark be dark.