John
Keats
La Belle Dame Sans Merci
O
WHAT can ail thee, knight-at-arms,
Alone and palely loitering?
The sedge has witherd from the lake,
And no birds sing.
II.
O
what can ail thee, knight-at-arms!
So haggard and so woe-begone?
The squirrels granary is full,
And the harvests done.
III.
I
see a lily on thy brow
With anguish moist and fever dew,
And on thy cheeks a fading rose
Fast withereth too.
IV.
I
met a lady in the meads,
Full beautifula faerys child,
Her hair was long, her foot was light,
And her eyes were wild.
V.
I
made a garland for her head,
And bracelets too, and fragrant zone;
She lookd at me as she did love,
And made sweet moan.
VI.
I
set her on my pacing steed,
And nothing else saw all day long,
For sidelong would she bend, and sing
A faerys song.
VII.
She
found me roots of relish sweet,
And honey wild, and manna dew,
And sure in language strange she said
I love thee true.
VIII.
She
took me to her elfin grot,
And there she wept, and sighd fill sore,
And there I shut her wild wild eyes
With kisses four.
IX.
And
there she lulled me asleep,
And there I dreamdAh! woe betide!
The latest dream I ever dreamd
On the cold hills side.
X.
I
saw pale kings and princes too,
Pale warriors, death-pale were they all;
They criedLa Belle Dame sans Merci
Hath thee in thrall!
XI.
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.
XII.
And
this is why I sojourn here,
Alone and palely loitering,
Though the sedge is witherd from the lake,
And no birds sing.
