Page:Early poems of William Morris.djvu/118

 And then to make you kneel, O knight Guesclin;

And then—alas! alas! when all is said,

What could I do but let you go again,

Being pitiful woman? I get no revenge,

Whatever happens; and I get no comfort,

I am but weak, and cannot move my feet,

But as men bid me.

Suppose this had not happen'd after all;

I will lean out again and watch for news.

I wonder how long I can still feel thus,

As though I watch'd for news, feel as I did

Just half-an-hour ago, before this news.

How all the street is humming, some men sing,

And some men talk; some look up at the house,

Then lay their heads together and look grave;

Their laughter pains me sorely in the heart,

Their thoughtful talking makes my head turn round,

Yea, some men sing, what is it then they sing?

Eh Launcelot, and love and fate and death;

They ought to sing of him who was as wight

As Launcelot or Wade, and yet avail'd

Just nothing, but to fail and fail and fail,

And so at last to die and leave me here,

Alone and wretched; yea, perhaps they will,

When many years are past, make songs of us;

God help me, though, truly I never thought

That I should make a story in this way,

A story that his eyes can never see.