START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK POEMS BY THE WAY*** Transcribed from the 1896 Longmans, Green and Co. edition by David Price, email ccx074@pglaf.org POEMS BY THE WAYS WRITTEN BY WILLIAM MORRIS SECOND EDITION LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO. LONDON, NEW YORK, AND BOMBAY MDCCCXCI _This Edition first printed December_ 1891 _Reprinted April_ 1892, _and the publication_ _transferred to Longmans_, _Green and Co_. _in June_ 1896 Contents. From the Upland to the Sea Of the Wooing of Hallbiorn the Strong Echoes of Love's House The Burghers' Battle Hope Deith: Love Liveth Error and Loss The Hall and the Wood The Day of Days To the Muse of the North Of the Three Seekers Love's Gleaning-Tide The Message of the March Wind A Death Song Iceland First Seen The Raven and the King's Daughter Spring's Bedfellow Meeting in Winter The Two Sides of the River Love Fulfilled The King of Denmark's Sons On the Edge of the Wilderness A Garden by the Sea Mother and Son Thunder in the Garden The God of the Poor Love's Reward The Folk-Mote by the River The Voice of Toil Gunnar's Howe above the House at Lithend The Day is Coming Earth the Healer, Earth the Keeper All for the Cause Pain and Time Strive Not Drawing near the Light Verses for Pictures For the Briar-Rose Another for the Briar-Rose The Woodpecker The Lion The Forest Pomona Flora The Orchard Tapestry Trees The Flowering Orchard The End of May The Half of Life Gone Mine and Thine The Lay of Christine Hildebrand and Hellelil The Son's Sorrow Agnes and the Hill-Man Knight Aagen and Maiden Else Hafbur and Signy Goldilocks and Goldilocks HERE BEGIN POEMS BY THE WAY. WRITTEN BY WILLIAM MORRIS. AND FIRST IS THE POEM CALLED FROM THE UPLAND TO THE SEA. Shall we wake one morn of spring, Glad at heart of everything, Yet pensive with the thought of eve? Then the white house shall we leave, Pass the wind-flowers and the bays, Through the garth, and go our ways, Wandering down among the meads Till our very joyance needs Rest at last; till we shall come To that Sun-god's lonely home, Lonely on the hill-side grey, Whence the sheep have gone away; Lonely till the feast-time is, When with prayer and praise of bliss, Thither comes the country side. There awhile shall we abide, Sitting low down in the porch By that image with the torch: Thy one white hand laid upon The black pillar that was won From the far-off Indian mine; And my hand nigh touching thine, But not touching; and thy gown Fair with spring-flowers cast adown From thy bosom and thy brow. There the south-west wind shall blow Through thine hair to reach my cheek, As thou sittest, nor mayst speak, Nor mayst move the hand I kiss For the very depth of bliss; Nay, nor turn thine eyes to me. Then desire of the great sea Nigh enow, but all unheard, In the hearts of us is stirred, And we rise, we twain at last, And the daffodils downcast, Feel thy feet and we are gone From the lonely Sun-Crowned one. Then the meads fade at our back, And the spring day 'gins to lack That fresh hope that once it had; But we twain grow yet more glad, And apart no more may go When the grassy slope and low Dieth in the shingly sand: Then we wander hand in hand By the edges of the sea, And I weary more for thee Than if far apart we were, With a space of desert drear 'Twixt thy lips and mine, O love! Ah, my joy, my joy thereof! OF THE WOOING OF HALLBIORN THE STRONG. A STORY FROM THE LAND- SETTLING BOOK OF ICELAND, CHAPTER XXX. At Deildar-Tongue in the autumn-tide, _So many times over comes summer again_, Stood Odd of Tongue his door beside. _What healing in summer if winter be vain_? Dim and dusk the day was grown, As he heard his folded wethers moan. Then through the garth a man drew near, With painted shield and gold-wrought spear. Good was his horse and grand his gear, And his girths were wet with Whitewater. "Hail, Master Odd, live blithe and long! How fare the folk at Deildar-Tongue?" "All hail, thou Hallbiorn the Strong! How fare the folk by the Brothers'-Tongue?" "Meat have we there, and drink and fire, Nor lack all things that we desire. But by the other Whitewater Of Hallgerd many a tale we hear." "Tales enow may my daughter make If too many words be said for her sake." "What saith thine heart to a word of mine, That I deem thy daughter fair and fine? Fair and fine for a bride is she, And I fain would have her home with me." "Full many a word that at noon goes forth Comes home at even little worth. Now winter treadeth on autumn-tide, So here till the spring shalt thou abide. Then if thy mind be changed no whit, And ye still will wed, see ye to it! And on the first of summer days, A wedded man, ye may go your ways. Yet look, howso the thing will fall, My hand shall meddle nought at all. Lo, now the night and rain draweth up, And within doors glimmer stoop and cup. And hark, a little sound I know, The laugh of Snaebiorn's fiddle-bow, My sister's son, and a craftsman good, When the red rain drives through the iron wood." Hallbiorn laughed, and followed in, And a merry feast there did begin. Hallgerd's hands undid his weed, Hallgerd's hands poured out the mead. Her fingers at his breast he felt, As her hair fell down about his belt. Her fingers with the cup he took, And o'er its rim at her did look. Cold cup, warm hand, and fingers slim, Before his eyes were waxen dim. And if the feast were foul or fair, He knew not, save that she was there. He knew not if men laughed or wept, While still 'twixt wall and dais she stept. Whether she went or stood that eve, Not once his eyes her face did leave. But Snaebiorn laughed and Snaebiorn sang, And sweet his smitten fiddle rang. And Hallgerd stood beside him there, _So many times over comes summer again_, Nor ever once he turned to her, _What healing in summer if winter be vain_? Master Odd on the morrow spake, _So many times over comes summer again_. "Hearken, O guest, if ye be awake," _What healing in summer if winter be vain_? "Sure ye champions of the south Speak many things from a silent mouth. And thine, meseems, last night did pray That ye might well be wed to-day. The year's ingathering feast it is, A goodly day to give thee bliss. Come hither, daughter, fine and fair, Here is a Wooer from Whitewater. East away hath he gotten fame, And his father's name is e'en my names. Will ye lay hand within his hand, That blossoming fair our house may stand?" She laid her hand within his hand; White she was as the lily wand. Low sang Snaebiorn's brand in its sheath, And his lips were waxen grey as death. "Snaebiorn, sing us a song of worth, If your song must be silent from now henceforth." Clear and loud his voice outrang, And a song of worth at the wedding he sang. "Sharp sword," he sang, "and death is sure." _So many times over comes summer again_, "But love doth over all endure." _What healing in summer if winter be vain_? Now winter cometh and weareth away, _So many times over comes summer again_, And glad is Hallbiorn many a day. _What healing in summer if winter be vain_? Full soft he lay his love beside; But dark are the days of wintertide. Dark are the days, and the nights are long, And sweet and fair was Snaebiorn's song. Many a time he talked with her, Till they deemed the summer-tide was there. And they forgat the wind-swept ways And angry fords of the flitting-days. While the north wind swept the hillside there They forgat the other Whitewater. While nights at Deildar-Tongue were long, They clean forgat the Brothers'-Tongue. But whatso falleth 'twixt Hell and Home, _So many times over comes summer again_, Full surely again shall summer come. _What healing in summer if winter be vain_? To Odd spake Hallbiorn on a day _So many times over comes summer again_, "Gone is the snow from everyway." _What healing in summer if winter be vain_? Now green is grown Whitewater-side, And I to Whitewater will ride." Quoth Odd, "Well fare thou winter-guest, May thine own Whitewater be best. Well is a man's purse better at home Than open where folk go and come." "Come ye carles of the south country, Now shall we go our kin to see! For the lambs are bleating in the south, And the salmon swims towards Olfus mouth. Girth and graithe and gather your gear! And ho for the other Whitewater!" Bright was the moon as bright might be, And Snaebiorn rode to the north country. And Odd to Reykholt is gone forth, To see if his mares be ought of worth. But Hallbiorn into the bower is gone And there sat Hallgerd all alone. She was not dight to go nor ride She had no joy of the summer-tide. Silent she sat and combed her hair, That fell all round about her there. The slant beam lay upon her head, And gilt her golden locks to red. He gazed at her with hungry eyes And fluttering did his heart arise. "Full hot," he said, "is the sun to-day, And the snow is gone from the mountain-way. The king-cup grows above the grass, And through the wood do the thrushes pass." Of all his words she hearkened none, But combed her hair amidst the sun. "The laden beasts stand in the garth And their heads are turned to Helliskarth." The sun was falling on her knee, And she combed her gold hair silently. "To-morrow great will be the cheer At the Brothers'-Tongue by Whitewater." From her folded lap the sunbeam slid; She combed her hair, and the word she hid. "Come, love; is the way so long and drear From Whitewater to Whitewater?" The sunbeam lay upon the floor; She combed her hair and spake no more. He drew her by the lily hand: "I love thee better than all the land." He drew her by the shoulders sweet: "My threshold is but for thy feet." He drew her by the yellow hair: "O why wert thou so deadly fair? "O am I wedded to death?" he cried "Is the Dead-strand come to Whitewater side?" And the sun was fading from the room, But her eyes were bright in the change and the gloom. "Sharp sword," she sang, "and death is sure, But over all doth love endure." She stood up shining in her place And laughed beneath his deadly face. Instead of the sunbeam gleamed a brand, The hilts were hard in Hallbiorn's hand: The bitter point was in Hallgerd's breast That Snaebiorn's lips of love had pressed. Morn and noon, and nones passed o'er, And the sun is far from the bower door. To-morrow morn shall the sun come back, _So many times over comes summer again_, But Hallgerd's feet the floor shall lack. _What healing in summer if winter be vain_? Now Hallbiorn's house-carles ride full fast, _So many times over comes summer again_, Till many a mile of way is past. _What healing in summer if winter be vain_? But when they came over Oxridges, 'Twas, "Where shall we give our horses ease?" When Shieldbroad-side was well in sight, 'Twas, "Where shall we lay our heads to-night?" Hallbiorn turned and raised his head; "Under the stones of the waste," he said. Quoth one, "The clatter of hoofs anigh." Quoth the other, "Spears against the sky!" "Hither ride men from the Wells apace; Spur we fast to a kindlier place." Down from his horse leapt Hallbiorn straight: "Why should the supper of Odin wait? Weary and chased I will not come To the table of my fathers' home." With that came Snaebiorn, who but he, And twelve in all was his company. Snaebiorn's folk were on their feet; He spake no word as they did meet. They fought upon the northern hill: Five are the howes men see there still. Three men of Snaebiorn's fell to earth And Hallbiorn's twain that were of worth. And never a word did Snaebiorn say, Till Hallbiorn's foot he smote away. Then Hallbiorn cried: "Come, fellow of mine, To the southern bent where the sun doth shine." Tottering into the sun he went, And slew two more upon the bent. And on the bent where dead he lay Three howes do men behold to-day. And never a word spake Snaebiorn yet, Till in his saddle he was set. Nor was there any heard his voice, _So many times over comes summer again_, Till he came to his ship in Grimsar-oyce. _What healing in summer if winter be vain_? On so fair a day they hoisted sail, _So many times over comes summer again_, And for Norway well did the wind avail. _What healing in summer if winter be vain_? But Snaebiorn looked aloft and said: "I see in the sail a stripe of red: Murder, meseems, is the name of it And ugly things about it flit. A stripe of blue in the sail I see: Cold death of men it seems to me. And next I see a stripe of black, For a life fulfilled of bitter lack." Quoth one, "So fair a wind doth blow That we shall see Norway soon enow." "Be blithe, O shipmate," Snaebiorn said, "Tell Hacon the Earl that I be dead." About the midst of the Iceland main Round veered the wind to the east again. And west they drave, and long they ran Till they saw a land was white and wan. "Yea," Snaebiorn said, "my home it is, Ye bear a man shall have no bliss. Far off beside the Greekish sea The maidens pluck the grapes in glee. Green groweth the wheat in the English land And the honey-bee flieth on every hand. In Norway by the cheaping town The laden beasts go up and down. In Iceland many a mead they mow And Hallgerd's grave grows green enow. But these are Gunnbiorn's skerries wan Meet harbour for a hapless man. In all lands else is love alive, But here is nought with grief to strive. Fail not for a while, O eastern wind, For nought but grief is left behind. And before me here a rest I know," _So many times over comes summer again_, "A grave beneath the Greenland snow," _What healing in summer if winter be vain_? ECHOES OF LOVE'S HOUSE. Love gives every gift whereby we long to live "Love takes every gift, and nothing back doth give." Love unlocks the lips that else were ever dumb: "Love locks up the lips whence all things good might come." Love makes clear the eyes that else would never see: "Love makes blind the eyes to all but me and thee." Love turns life to joy till nought is left to gain: "Love turns life to woe till hope is nought and vain." Love, who changest all, change me nevermore! "Love, who changest all, change my sorrow sore!" Love burns up the world to changeless heaven and blest, "Love burns up the world to a void of all unrest." And there we twain are left, and no more work we need: "And I am left alone, and who my work shall heed?" Ah! I praise thee, Love, for utter joyance won! "And is my praise nought worth for all my life undone?" THE BURGHERS' BATTLE. Thick rise the spear-shafts o'er the land That erst the harvest bore; The sword is heavy in the hand, _And we return no more_. The light wind waves the Ruddy Fox, Our banner of the war, And ripples in the Running Ox, _And we return no more_. Across our stubble acres now The teams go four and four; But out-worn elders guide the plough, _And we return no more_. And now the women heavy-eyed Turn through the open door From gazing down the highway wide, _Where we return no more_. The shadows of the fruited close Dapple the feast-hall floor; There lie our dogs and dream and doze, _And we return no more_. Down from the minster tower to-day Fall the soft chimes of yore Amidst the chattering jackdaws' play: _And we return no more_. But underneath the streets are still; Noon, and the market's o'er! Back go the goodwives o'er the hill; _For we return no more_. What merchant to our gates shall come? What wise man bring us lore? What abbot ride away to Rome, _Now we return no more_? What mayor shall rule the hall we built? Whose scarlet sweep the floor? What judge shall doom the robber's guilt, _Now we return no more_? New houses in the streets shall rise Where builded we before, Of other stone wrought otherwise; _For we return no more_. And crops shall cover field and hill Unlike what once they bore, And all be done without our will, _Now we return no more_. Look up! the arrows streak the sky, The horns of battle roar; The long spears lower and draw nigh, _And we return no more_. Remember how beside the wain, We spoke the word of war, And sowed this harvest of the plain, _And we return no more_. Lay spears about the Ruddy Fox! The days of old are o'er; Heave sword about the Running Ox! _For we return no more_. HOPE DIETH: LOVE LIVETH. Strong are thine arms, O love, & strong Thine heart to live, and love, and long; But thou art wed to grief and wrong: Live, then, and long, though hope be dead! Live on, & labour thro' the years! Make pictures through the mist of tears, Of unforgotten happy fears, That crossed the time ere hope was dead. Draw near the place where once we stood Amid delight's swift-rushing flood, And we and all the world seemed good Nor needed hope now cold and dead. Dream in the dawn I come to thee Weeping for things that may not be! Dream that thou layest lips on me! Wake, wake to clasp hope's body dead! Count o'er and o'er, and one by one The minutes of the happy sun That while agone on kissed lips shone, Count on, rest not, for hope is dead. Weep, though no hair's breadth thou shalt move The living Earth, the heaven above By all the bitterness of love! Weep and cease not, now hope is dead! Sighs rest thee not, tears bring no ease, Life hath no joy, and Death no peace: The years change not, though they decrease, For hope is dead, for hope is dead. Speak, love, I listen: far away I bless the tremulous lips, that say, "Mock not the afternoon of day, Mock not the tide when hope is dead!" I bless thee, O my love, who say'st: "Mock not the thistle-cumbered waste; I hold Love's hand, and make no haste Down the long way, now hope is dead. With other names do we name pain, The long years wear our hearts in vain. Mock not our loss grown into gain, Mock not our lost hope lying dead. Our eyes gaze for no morning-star, No glimmer of the dawn afar; Full silent wayfarers we are Since ere the noon-tide hope lay dead. Behold with lack of happiness The master, Love, our hearts did bless Lest we should think of him the less: Love dieth not, though hope is dead!" ERROR AND LOSS. Upon an eve I sat me down and wept, Because the world to me seemed nowise good; Still autumn was it, & the meadows slept, The misty hills dreamed, and the silent wood Seemed listening to the sorrow of my mood: I knew not if the earth with me did grieve, Or if it mocked my grief that bitter eve. Then 'twixt my tears a maiden did I see, Who drew anigh me on the leaf-strewn grass, Then stood and gazed upon me pitifully With grief-worn eyes, until my woe did pass From me to her, and tearless now I was, And she mid tears was asking me of one She long had sought unaided and alone. I knew not of him, and she turned away Into the dark wood, and my own great pain Still held me there, till dark had slain the day, And perished at the grey dawn's hand again; Then from the wood a voice cried: "Ah, in vain, In vain I seek thee, O thou bitter-sweet! In what lone land are set thy longed-for feet?" Then I looked up, and lo, a man there came From midst the trees, and stood regarding me Until my tears were dried for very shame; Then he cried out: "O mourner, where is she Whom I have sought o'er every land and sea? I love her and she loveth me, and still We meet no more than green hill meeteth hill." With that he passed on sadly, and I knew That these had met and missed in the dark night, Blinded by blindness of the world untrue, That hideth love and maketh wrong of right. Then midst my pity for their lost delight, Yet more with barren longing I grew weak, Yet more I mourned that I had none to seek. THE HALL AND THE WOOD. 'Twas in the water-dwindling tide When July days were done, Sir Rafe of Greenhowes, 'gan to ride In the earliest of the sun. He left the white-walled burg behind, He rode amidst the wheat. The westland-gotten wind blew kind Across the acres sweet. Then rose his heart and cleared his brow, And slow he rode the way: "As then it was, so is it now, Not all hath worn away." So came he to the long green lane That leadeth to the ford, And saw the sickle by the wain Shine bright as any sword. The brown carles stayed 'twixt draught and draught, And murmuring, stood aloof, But one spake out when he had laughed: "God bless the Green-wood Roof!" Then o'er the ford and up he fared: And lo the happy hills! And the mountain-dale by summer cleared, That oft the winter fills. Then forth he rode by Peter's gate, And smiled and said aloud: "No more a day doth the Prior wait, White stands the tower and proud." There leaned a knight on the gateway side In armour white and wan, And after the heels of the horse he cried, "God keep the hunted man!" Then quoth Sir Rafe, "Amen, amen!" For he deemed the word was good; But never a while he lingered then Till he reached the Nether Wood. * * * * * He rode by ash, he rode by oak, He rode the thicket round, And heard no woodman strike a stroke, No wandering wife he found. He rode the wet, he rode the dry, He rode the grassy glade: At Wood-end yet the sun was high, And his heart was unafraid. There on the bent his rein he drew, And looked o'er field and fold, O'er all the merry meads he knew Beneath the mountains old. He gazed across to the good Green Howe As he smelt the sun-warmed sward; Then his face grew pale from chin to brow, And he cried, "God save the sword!" For there beyond the winding way, Above the orchards green, Stood up the ancient gables gray With ne'er a roof between. His naked blade in hand he had, O'er rough and smooth he rode, Till he stood where once his heart was glad Amidst his old abode. * * * * * Across the hearth a tie-beam lay Unmoved a weary while. The flame that clomb the ashlar gray Had burned it red as tile. The sparrows bickering on the floor Fled at his entering in; The swift flew past the empty door His winged meat to win. Red apples from the tall old tree O'er the wall's rent were shed. Thence oft, a little lad, would he Look down upon the lead. There turned the cheeping chaffinch now And feared no birding child; Through the shot-window thrust a bough Of garden-rose run wild. He looked to right, he looked to left, And down to the cold gray hearth, Where lay an axe with half burned heft Amidst the ashen dearth. He caught it up and cast it wide Against the gable wall; Then to the dais did he stride, O'er beam and bench and all. Amidst there yet the high-seat stood, Where erst his sires had sat; And the mighty board of oaken wood, The fire had stayed thereat. Then through the red wrath of his eyne He saw a sheathed sword, Laid thwart that wasted field of wine, Amidmost of the board. And by the hilts a slug-horn lay, And therebeside a scroll, He caught it up and turned away From the lea-land of the bowl. Then with the sobbing grief he strove, For he saw his name thereon; And the heart within his breast uphove As the pen's tale now he won. "O Rafe, my love of long ago! Draw forth thy father's blade, And blow the horn for friend and foe, And the good green-wood to aid!" He turned and took the slug-horn up, And set it to his mouth, And o'er that meadow of the cup Blew east and west and south. He drew the sword from out the sheath And shook the fallow brand; And there a while with bated breath, And hearkening ear did stand. Him-seemed the horn's voice he might hear-- Or the wind that blew o'er all. Him-seemed that footsteps drew anear-- Or the boughs shook round the hall. Him-seemed he heard a voice he knew-- Or a dream of while agone. Him-seemed bright raiment towards him drew-- Or bright the sun-set shone. * * * * * She stood before him face to face, With the sun-beam thwart her hand, As on the gold of the Holy Place The painted angels stand. With many a kiss she closed his eyes; She kissed him cheek and chin: E'en so in the painted Paradise Are Earth's folk welcomed in. There in the door the green-coats stood, O'er the bows went up the cry, "O welcome, Rafe, to the free green-wood, With us to live and die." It was bill and bow by the high-seat stood, And they cried above the bows, "Now welcome, Rafe, to the good green-wood, And welcome Kate the Rose!" * * * * * White, white in the moon is the woodland plash, White is the woodland glade, Forth wend those twain, from oak to ash, With light hearts unafraid. The summer moon high o'er the hill, All silver-white is she, And Sir Rafe's good men with bow and bill, They go by two and three. In the fair green-wood where lurks no fear, Where the King's writ runneth not, There dwell they, friends and fellows dear, While summer days are hot, And when the leaf from the oak-tree falls, And winds blow rough and strong, With the carles of the woodland thorps and halls They dwell, and fear no wrong. And there the merry yule they make, And see the winter wane, And fain are they for true-love's sake, And the folk thereby are fain. For the ploughing carle and the straying herd Flee never for Sir Rafe: No barefoot maiden wends afeard, And she deems the thicket safe. But sore adread do the chapmen ride; Wide round the wood they go; And the judge and the sergeants wander wide, Lest they plead before the bow. Well learned and wise is Sir Rafe's good sword, And straight the arrows fly, And they find the coat of many a lord, And the crest that rideth high. THE DAY OF DAYS. Each eve earth falleth down the dark, As though its hope were o'er; Yet lurks the sun when day is done Behind to-morrow's door. Grey grows the dawn while men-folk sleep, Unseen spreads on the light, Till the thrush sings to the coloured things, And earth forgets the night. No otherwise wends on our Hope: E'en as a tale that's told Are fair lives lost, and all the cost Of wise and true and bold. We've toiled and failed; we spake the word; None hearkened; dumb we lie; Our Hope is dead, the seed we spread Fell o'er the earth to die. What's this? For joy our hearts stand still, And life is loved and dear, The lost and found the Cause hath crowned, The Day of Days is here. TO THE MUSE OF THE NORTH. O muse that swayest the sad Northern Song, Thy right hand full of smiting & of wrong, Thy left hand holding pity; & thy breast Heaving with hope of that so certain rest: Thou, with the grey eyes kind and unafraid, The soft lips trembling not, though they have said The doom of the World and those that dwell therein. The lips that smile not though thy children win The fated Love that draws the fated Death. O, borne adown the fresh stream of thy breath, Let some word reach my ears and touch my heart, That, if it may be, I may have a part In that great sorrow of thy children dead That vexed the brow, and bowed adown the head, Whitened the hair, made life a wondrous dream, And death the murmur of a restful stream, But left no stain upon those souls of thine Whose greatness through the tangled world doth shine. O Mother, and Love and Sister all in one, Come thou; for sure I am enough alone That thou thine arms about my heart shouldst throw, And wrap me in the grief of long ago. OF THE THREE SEEKERS. There met three knights on the woodland way, And the first was clad in silk array: The second was dight in iron and steel, But the third was rags from head to heel. "Lo, now is the year and the day come round When we must tell what we have found." The first said: "I have found a king Who grudgeth no gift of anything." The second said: "I have found a knight Who hath never turned his back in fight." But the third said: "I have found a love That Time and the World shall never move." Whither away to win good cheer? "With me," said the first, "for my king is near." So to the King they went their ways; But there was a change of times and days. "What men are ye," the great King said, "That ye should eat my children's bread? My waste has fed full many a store, And mocking and grudge have I gained therefore. Whatever waneth as days wax old, Full worthy to win are goods and gold." Whither away to win good cheer? "With me," said the second, "my knight is near." So to the knight they went their ways, But there was a change of times and days. He dwelt in castle sure and strong, For fear lest aught should do him wrong. Guards by gate and hall there were, And folk went in and out in fear. When he heard the mouse run in the wall, "Hist!" he said, "what next shall befal? Draw not near, speak under your breath, For all new-corners tell of death. Bring me no song nor minstrelsy, Round death it babbleth still," said he. "And what is fame and the praise of men, When lost life cometh not again?" Whither away to seek good cheer? "Ah me!" said the third, "that my love were anear! Were the world as little as it is wide, In a happy house should ye abide. Were the world as kind as it is hard, Ye should behold a fair reward." So far by high and low have they gone, They have come to a waste was rock and stone. But lo, from the waste, a company Full well bedight came riding by; And in the midst, a queen, so fair, That God wrought well in making her. The first and second knights abode To gaze upon her as she rode, Forth passed the third with head down bent, And stumbling ever as he went. His shoulder brushed her saddle-bow; He trembled with his head hung low. His hand brushed o'er her golden gown, As on the waste he fell adown. So swift to earth her feet she set, It seemed that there her arms he met. His lips that looked the stone to meet Were on her trembling lips and sweet. Softly she kissed him cheek and chin, His mouth her many tears drank in. "Where would'st thou wander, love," she said, "Now I have drawn thee from the dead?" "I go my ways," he said, "and thine Have nought to do with grief and pine." "All ways are one way now," she said, "Since I have drawn thee from the dead." Said he, "But I must seek again Where first I met thee in thy pain: I am not clad so fair," said he, "But yet the old hurts thou may'st see. And thou, but for thy gown of gold, A piteous tale of thee were told." "There is no pain on earth," she said, "Since I have drawn thee from the dead." "And parting waiteth for us there," Said he, "As it was yester-year." "Yet first a space of love," she said, "Since I have drawn thee from the dead." He laughed; said he, "Hast thou a home Where I and these my friends may come?" Laughing, "The world's my home," she said, "Now I have drawn thee from the dead. Yet somewhere is a space thereof Where I may dwell beside my love. There clear the river grows for him Till o'er its stones his keel shall swim. There faint the thrushes in their song, And deem he tarrieth overlong. There summer-tide is waiting now Until he bids the roses blow. Come, tell my flowery fields," she said, "How I have drawn thee from the dead." Whither away to win good cheer? "With me," he said, "for my love is here. The wealth of my house it waneth not; No gift it giveth is forgot. No fear my house may enter in, For nought is there that death may win. Now life is little, and death is nought, Since all is found that erst I sought." LOVE'S GLEANING-TIDE. Draw not away thy hands, my love, With wind alone the branches move, And though the leaves be scant above The Autumn shall not shame us. Say; Let the world wax cold and drear, What is the worst of all the year But life, and what can hurt us, dear, Or death, and who shall blame us? Ah, when the summer comes again How shall we say, we sowed in vain? The root was joy, the stem was pain, The ear a nameless blending. The root is dead and gone, my love, The stem's a rod our truth to prove; The ear is stored for nought to move Till heaven and earth have ending. THE MESSAGE OF THE MARCH WIND. Fair now is the springtide, now earth lies beholding With the eyes of a lover, the face of the sun; Long lasteth the daylight, and hope is enfolding The green-growing acres with increase begun. Now sweet, sweet it is through the land to be straying 'Mid the birds and the blossoms and the beasts of the field; Love mingles with love, and no evil is weighing On thy heart or mine, where all sorrow is healed. From township to township, o'er down and by tillage Fair, far have we wandered and long was the day; But now cometh eve at the end of the village, Where over the grey wall the church riseth grey. There is wind in the twilight; in the white road before us The straw from the ox-yard is blowing about; The moon's rim is rising, a star glitters o'er us, And the vane on the spire-top is swinging in doubt. Down there dips the highway, toward the bridge crossing over The brook that runs on to the Thames and the sea. Draw closer, my sweet, we are lover and lover; This eve art thou given to gladness and me. Shall we be glad always? Come closer and hearken: Three fields further on, as they told me down there, When the young moon has set, if the March sky should darken We might see from the hill-top the great city's glare. Hark, the wind in the elm-boughs! from London it bloweth, And telleth of gold, and of hope and unrest; Of power that helps not; of wisdom that knoweth, But teacheth not aught of the worst and the best. Of the rich men it telleth, and strange is the story How they have, and they hanker, and grip far and wide; And they live and they die, and the earth and its glory Has been but a burden they scarce might abide. Hark! the March wind again of a people is telling; Of the life that they live there, so haggard and grim, That if we and our love amidst them had been dwelling My fondness had faltered, thy beauty grown dim. This land we have loved in our love and our leisure For them hangs in heaven, high out of their reach; The wide hills o'er the sea-plain for them have no pleasure, The grey homes of their fathers no story to teach. The singers have sung and the builders have builded, The painters have fashioned their tales of delight; For what and for whom hath the world's book been gilded, When all is for these but the blackness of night? How long, and for what is their patience abiding? How oft and how oft shall their story be told, While the hope that none seeketh in darkness is hiding, And in grief and in sorrow the world groweth old? * * * * * Come back to the inn, love, and the lights and the fire, And the fiddler's old tune and the shuffling of feet; For there in a while shall be rest and desire, And there shall the morrow's uprising be sweet. Yet, love, as we wend, the wind bloweth behind us, And beareth the last tale it telleth to-night, How here in the spring-tide the message shall find us; For the hope that none seeketh is coming to light. Like the seed of midwinter, unheeded, unperished, Like the autumn-sown wheat 'neath the snow lying green, Like the love that o'ertook us, unawares and uncherished, Like the babe 'neath thy girdle that groweth unseen; So the hope of the people now buddeth and groweth, Rest fadeth before it, and blindness and fear; It biddeth us learn all the wisdom it knoweth; It hath found us and held us, and biddeth us hear: For it beareth the message: "Rise up on the morrow And go on your ways toward the doubt and the strife; Join hope to our hope and blend sorrow with sorrow, And seek for men's love in the short days of life." But lo, the old inn, and the lights, and the fire, And the fiddler's old tune and the shuffling of feet; Soon for us shall be quiet and rest and desire, And to-morrow's uprising to deeds shall be sweet. A DEATH SONG. What cometh here from west to east awending? And who are these, the marchers stern and slow? We bear the message that the rich are sending Aback to those who bade them wake and know. _Not one_, _not one_, _nor thousands must they slay_, _But one and all if they would dusk the day_. We asked them for a life of toilsome earning, They bade us bide their leisure for our bread; We craved to speak to tell our woeful learning: We come back speechless, bearing back our dead. _Not one_, _not one_, _nor thousands must they slay_, _But one and all if they would dusk the day_. They will not learn; they have no ears to hearken. They turn their faces from the eyes of fate; Their gay-lit halls shut out the skies that darken. But, lo! this dead man knocking at the gate. _Not one_, _not one_, _nor thousands must they slay_, _But one and all if they would dusk the day_. Here lies the sign that we shall break our prison; Amidst the storm he won a prisoner's rest; But in the cloudy dawn the sun arisen Brings us our day of work to win the best. _Not one_, _not one_, _nor thousands must they slay_, _But one and all if they would dusk the day_. ICELAND FIRST SEEN Lo from our loitering ship a new land at last to be seen; Toothed rocks down the side of the firth on the east guard a weary wide lea, And black slope the hill-sides above, striped adown with their desolate green: And a peak rises up on the west from the meeting of cloud and of sea, Foursquare from base unto point like the building of Gods that have been, The last of that waste of the mountains all cloud-wreathed and snow-flecked and grey, And bright with the dawn that began just now at the ending of day. Ah! what came we forth for to see that our hearts are so hot with desire? Is it enough for our rest, the sight of this desolate strand, And the mountain-waste voiceless as death but for winds that may sleep not nor tire? Why do we long to wend forth through the length and breadth of a land, Dreadful with grinding of ice, and record of scarce hidden fire, But that there 'mid the grey grassy dales sore scarred by the ruining streams Lives the tale of the Northland of old and the undying glory of dreams? * * * * * O land, as some cave by the sea where the treasures of old have been laid, The sword it may be of a king whose name was the turning of fight: Or the staff of some wise of the world that many things made and unmade. Or the ring of a woman maybe whose woe is grown wealth and delight. No wheat and no wine grows above it, no orchard for blossom and shade; The few ships that sail by its blackness but deem it the mouth of a grave; Yet sure when the world shall awaken, this too shall be mighty to save. Or rather, O land, if a marvel it seemeth that men ever sought Thy wastes for a field and a garden fulfilled of all wonder and doubt, And feasted amidst of the winter when the light of the year had been fought, Whose plunder all gathered together was little to babble about; Cry aloud from thy wastes, O thou land, "Not for this nor for that was I wrought. Amid waning of realms and of riches and death of things worshipped and sure, I abide here the spouse of a God, and I made and I make and endure." O Queen of the grief without knowledge, of the courage that may not avail, Of the longing that may not attain, of the love that shall never forget, More joy than the gladness of laughter thy voice hath amidst of its wail: More hope than of pleasure fulfilled amidst of thy blindness is set; More glorious than gaining of all thine unfaltering hand that shall fail: For what is the mark on thy brow but the brand that thy Brynhild doth bear? Lone once, and loved and undone by a love that no ages outwear. Ah! when thy Balder comes back, and bears from the heart of the Sun Peace and the healing of pain, and the wisdom that waiteth no more; And the lilies are laid on thy brow 'mid the crown of the deeds thou hast done; And the roses spring up by thy feet that the rocks of the wilderness wore. Ah! when thy Balder comes back and we gather the gains he hath won, Shall we not linger a little to talk of thy sweetness of old, Yea, turn back awhile to thy travail whence the Gods stood aloof to behold? THE RAVEN AND THE KING'S DAUGHTER. King's daughter sitting in tower so high, _Fair summer is on many a shield_. Why weepest thou as the clouds go by? _Fair sing the swans 'twixt firth and field_. Why weepest thou in the window-seat Till the tears run through thy fingers sweet? _The King's Daughter_. I weep because I sit alone Betwixt these walls of lime and stone. Fair folk are in my father's hall, But for me he built this guarded wall. And here the gold on the green I sew Nor tidings of my true-love know. _The Raven_. King's daughter, sitting above the sea, I shall tell thee a tale shall gladden thee. Yestreen I saw a ship go forth When the wind blew merry from the north. And by the tiller Steingrim sat, And O, but my heart was glad thereat! For 'twixt ashen plank and dark blue sea His sword sang sweet of deeds to be. _The King's Daughter_. O barren sea, thou bitter bird, And a barren tale my ears have heard. _The Raven_. Thy father's men were hard thereby In byrny bright and helmet high. _The King's Daughter_. O worser waxeth thy story far, For these drew upon me bolt and bar. Fly south, O fowl, to the field of death For nothing sweet thy grey neb saith. _The Raven_. O, there was Olaf the lily-rose, As fair as any oak that grows. _The King's Daughter_. O sweet bird, what did he then Among the spears of my father's men? _The Raven_. 'Twixt ashen plank and dark blue sea, He sang: My true love waiteth me. _The King's Daughter_. As well as this dull floor knows my feet, I am not weary yet, my sweet. _The Raven_. He sang: As once her hand I had, Her lips at last shall make me glad. _The King's Daughter_. As once our fingers met, O love, So shall our lips be fain thereof. _The Raven_. He sang: Come wrack and iron and flame, For what shall breach the wall but fame? _The King's Daughter_. Be swift to rise and set, O Sun, Lest life 'twixt hope and death be done. _The Raven_. King's daughter sitting in tower so high, A gift for my tale ere forth I fly, The gold from thy finger fair and fine, Thou hadst it from no love of thine. _The King's Daughter_. By my father's ring another there is, I had it with my mother's kiss. Fly forth, O fowl, across the sea To win another gift of me. Fly south to bring me tidings true, _Fair summer is on many a shield_. Of the eve grown red with the battle-dew, _Fair sing the swans 'twixt firth and field_. _The Raven_. King's daughter sitting in tower so high, _Fair summer is on many a shield_. Tidings to hearken ere thou die, _Fair sing the swans 'twixt firth and field_. In the Frankish land the spear points met, And wide about the field was wet. And high ere the cold moon quenched the sun, Blew Steingrim's horn for battle won. _The King's Daughter_. Fair fall thee fowl! Tell tidings true Of deeds that men that day did do. _The Raven_. Steingrim before his banner went, And helms were broke and byrnies rent. _The King's Daughter_. A doughty man and good at need; Tell men of any other's deed? _The Raven_. Where Steingrim through the battle bore Still Olaf went a foot before. _The King's Daughter_. O fair with deeds the world doth grow! Where is my true-love gotten now? _The Raven_. Upon the deck beside the mast He lieth now, and sleepeth fast. _The King's Daughter_. Heard'st thou before his sleep began That he spake word of any man? _The Raven_. Methought of thee he sang a song, But nothing now he saith for long. _The King's Daughter_. And wottest thou where he will wend With the world before him from end to end? _The Raven_. Before the battle joined that day Steingrim a word to him did say: "If we bring the banner back in peace, In the King's house much shall my fame increase; Till there no guarded door shall be But it shall open straight to me. Then
{'title': 'Poems By the Way by William Morris', 'source': 'Project Gutenberg', 'lang': 'en'}