TWO RED ROSES ACROSS THE THERE was a lady lived in a hall, There was a knight came riding by Yet none the more he stopp'd at all, Because, forsooth, the battle was set, I trow he stopp'd when he rode again By the hall, though draggled sore with the rain; And his lips were pinch'd to kiss at the noon Two red roses across the moon. Under the may she stoop'd to the crown, All was gold, there was nothing of brown, And the horns blew up in the hallat noon, Two red roses across the moon. 1858. SIR GILES' WAR-SONG 1 Ho! is there any will ride with me, Sir Giles, le bon des barrières ? The clink of arms is good to hear, The flap of pennons fair to see; Ho! is there any will ride with me, Sir Giles, le bon des barrières ? The leopards and lilies are fair to see; I stood by the barrier, NEAR AVALON A SHIP with shields before the sun, The fluttering green banners there And a portraiture of Guenevere A ship which sails before the wind, 1 Browning wrote to Morris, on the appearance of the Earthly Paradise: "It is a double delight to me to read such poetry, and know you, of all the world, wrote it,-you whose songs I used to sing while galloping by Fiesole in old days'Ho, is there any will ride with me ? ' "—(J. W. Mackail's Life of William Morris, Vol. I., p. 133.) Or homespun robe of little price, Now, therefore, O thou bitter sea, Nor yet, O sea, shalt thou be cursed, If at thy hands we gain the worst, And, wrapt in water, roll about Blind-eyed, unheeding song or shout, Within thine eddies far from shore, Warmed by no sunlight any more. Therefore, indeed, we joy in thee, And praise thy greatness, and will we Take at thy hands both good and ill, Yea, what thou wilt, and praise thee still, Enduring not to sit at home, And wait until the last days come, So, if thou hast a mind to slay, sea, And half dried up thy waters be. 1867. THE NYMPH'S SONG TO HYLAS1 I know a little garden close And though within it no birds sing, And though no pillared house is there, 1 This song reappears under the title A Garden by the Sea in "Poems by the Way," 1891, with slight variations in the text, the most important of which is noted below. Passed our to-day upon the sea, And while the world lasts, scarce again So surely not in vain we strive sward Beneath the ancient mulberry trees, 1 In A Garden by the Sea, these three lines read: Dark hills whose heath-bloom feeds no bee, Where the shy thin-clad damsels sweet While on the veined pavement lie Their arms have borne from out the town. The dancers on the thymy down The merchant-town's fair market place, Where over many a changing face Ah! if they heard that we were come Some with desire, and some with praise; What soul within the house shall rest Then cometh happy life again That payeth well our toil and pain In that sweet hour, when all our woe But as a pensive tale we know, Nor yet remember deadly fear; For surely now if death be near, Unthought-of is it, and unseen When sweet is, that hath bitter been. 1867. SONGS OF ORPHEUS AND THE SIRENS Sirens O HAPPY Seafarers are ye, To you the fashion of the world, Wide lands laid waste, fair cities burned, And plagues, and kings from kingdoms hurled, Are nought, since hither ye have turned. For as upon this beach we stand, A little more, a little more, O carriers of the Golden Fleece, A little labor with the oar, Before we reach the land of Greece. E'en now perchance faint rumors reach But since the longed-for day is nigh, And scarce a God could stay us now, Why do ye hang your heads and sigh, Hindering for nought our eager prow? Sirens Ah, had ye chanced to reach the home On which your fond desires were set, Into what troubles had ye come? Short love and joy, and long regret. But now, but now, when ye have lain Asleep with us a little while Beneath the washing of the main, How calm shall be your waking smile! For ye shall smile to think of life That knows no troublous change or fear, No unavailing bitter strife, That ere its time brings trouble near. Orpheus Is there some murmur in your ears, That all that we have done is nought, And nothing ends our cares or fears, Till the last fear is on us brought? Sirens Alas! and will ye stop your ears, Orpheus Is not the May-time now on earth, Sirens Yes, May is come, and its sweet breath Shall well-nigh make you weep to-day, And pensive with swift-coming death, Shall ye be satiate of the May. Orpheus Shall not July bring fresh delight, Sirens No new delight July shall bring Orpheus And now, when August comes on thee, The merry reapers thou mayst see, Sirens Set flowers upon thy short-lived head, Or wilt thou climb the sunny hill, Sirens When thou beginnest to grow old, Bring back remembrance of thy bliss With that the shining cup doth hold, And weary helplessly of this. Orpheus Or pleasureless shall we pass by The long cold night and leaden day, That song, and tale, and minstrelsy Shall make as merry as the May? Since like thy measures, clear and sweet and strong, Thames' stream scarce fettered drave the dace along Unto the bastioned bridge, his only chain. O Master, pardon me, if yet in vain Thou art my Master, and I fail to bring Before men's eyes the image of the thing My heart is filled with: thou whose dreamy eyes Beheld the flush to Cressid's cheeks arise, When Troilus rode up the praising street, As clearly as they saw thy townsmen meet [stood Those who in vineyards of Poictou withThe glittering horror of the steel-topped wood. 1867. AN APOLOGY PROLOGUE OF THE EARTHLY PARADISE Of Heaven or Hell I have no power to sing, I cannot ease the burden of your fears. Or make quick-coming death a little thing, Or bring again the pleasure of past years, Nor for my words shall ye forget your tears, Or hope again for aught that I can say. The idle singer of an empty day. But rather, when aweary of your mirth. -Remember me a little then I pray, |