Page:John Reed poem Monthly vol 44 (1907).jpg/1



A thousand years ago we two were young And dwelt in that gray castle by the sea, Whose sombre surges swayed eternally The dreary rhythm of some forgotten song; And nothing lived nor moved the whole day long Save you and I; and through our ceaseless tears We saw the vista of those tragic years, And godlike Arthur's soul with passion wrung.

List to the awful kingly dirge; the sea Pours out his grieving heart with anguished wail Against the gray deserted cliffs, the while A dazzling presence shows its light to me; I, blinded, whisper, "Art thou, then, the Grail?" And "Nay" it answers, "but the sad queen's smile."