Original version of La Belle Dame Sans Merci, 1819 Oh what can ail thee, knight-at-arms, Alone and palely loitering? The sedge has withered from the lake, And no birds sing. Oh what can ail thee, knight-at-arms, So haggard and so woe-begone? The squirrels granary is full, And the harvests done. I see a lily on thy brow, With anguish moist and fever-dew, And on thy cheeks a fading rose Fast withereth too. I met a lady in the meads, Full beautiful - a faerys child, Her hair was long, her foot was light, And her eyes were wild. I made a garland for her head, And bracelets too, and fragrant zone; She looked at me as she did love, And made sweet moan. I set her on my pacing steed, And nothing else saw all day long, For sidelong would she bend, and sing A faerys song. She found me roots of relish sweet, And honey wild, and manna-dew, And sure in language strange she said - I love thee true. She took me to her elfin grot, And there she wept and sighed full sore, And there I shut her wild wild eyes With kisses four. And there she lulled me asleep And there I dreamed - Ah! woe betide! - The latest dream I ever dreamt On the cold hill side. I saw pale kings and princes too, Pale warriors, death-pale were they all; They cried - La Belle Dame sans Merci Hath thee in thrall! I saw their starved lips in the gloam, With horrid warning gaped wide, And I awoke and found me here, On the cold hills side. And this is why I sojourn here Alone and palely loitering, Though the sedge is withered from the lake, And no birds sing -AJmal zaz-
Posted on: Mon, 06 Oct 2014 20:29:50 +0000
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