Page:Oxford Book of English Verse 1250-1900.djvu/767

 Ah! would 'twere so with many A gentle girl and boy! But were there ever any Writhed not at passèd joy? To know the change and feel it, When there is none to heal it, Nor numbèd sense to steal it, Was never said in rhyme.

633. La Belle Dame sans Merci

'O what can ail thee, knight-at-arms, Alone and palely loitering? The sedge is wither'd from the lake, And no birds sing.

'O what can ail thee, knight-at-arms, So haggard and so woe-begone? The squirrel's granary is full, And the harvest's done.

'I see a lily on thy brow With anguish moist and fever dew; And on thy cheek a fading rose Fast withereth too.'

'I met a lady in the meads, Full beautiful—a faery's 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 look'd at me as she did love, And made sweet moan.