Hazel McKay's "the end of the day" follows one evening from afternoon to midnight, one stage per stanza. Each stanza begins with a line repeated twice, like a soft chant, and ends with a short label for the moment: afternoon, sunset, twilight, midnight. The sun sinks, the stars come out, the moon climbs, and the night settles in.
The speaker seems calm and quietly happy. Details like the light "soft on my cheek" and a nightingale singing "into my ear" make the scene feel close and personal, as though the speaker is simply standing still and soaking it in. Nothing dramatic happens, and that is the point. The repetition mimics the slow pace of the fading light, and the simple wording keeps everything gentle.
The mood is peaceful and a little dreamy, the kind of hush you feel when a day winds down and you have nowhere else to be.