es said, while the sails hung down,
_When the Sword went out to sea,_
O, Ursula! while I see the town,
What shall I bring for thee?
Dear knight, bring back a falcon brown:
_The Sword went out to sea._
But my Roland, no word he said
_When the Sword went out to sea,_
But only turn'd away his head;
A quick shriek came from me:
Come back, dear lord, to your white maid.
_The Sword went out to sea._
The hot sun bit the garden-beds
_When the Sword came back from sea;_
Beneath an apple-tree our heads
Stretched out toward the sea;
Grey gleam'd the thirsty castle-leads,
_When the Sword came back from sea._
Lord Robert brought a ruby red,
_When the Sword came back from sea;_
He kissed Alicia on the head:
I am come back to thee;
'Tis time, sweet love, that we were wed,
_Now the Sword is back from sea!_
Sir Miles he bore a falcon brown,
_When the Sword came back from sea;_
His arms went round tall Ursula's gown:
What joy, O love, but thee?
Let us be wed in the good town,
_Now the Sword is back from sea!_
My heart grew sick, no more afraid,
_When the Sword came back from sea;_
Upon the deck a tall white maid
Sat on Lord Roland's knee;
His chin was press'd upon her head,
_When the Sword came back from sea!_
SPELL-BOUND
How weary is it none can tell,
How dismally the days go by!
I hear the tinkling of the bell,
I see the cross against the sky.
The year wears round to Autumn-tide,
Yet comes no reaper to the corn;
The golden land is like a bride
When first she knows herself forlorn;
She sits and weeps with all her hair
Laid downward over tender hands;
For stained silk she hath no care,
No care for broken ivory wands;
The silver cups beside her stand;
The golden stars on the blue roof
Yet glitter, though against her hand
His cold sword presses for a proof
He is not dead, but gone away.
How many hours did she wait
For me, I wonder? Till the day
Had faded wholly, and the gate
Clanged to behind returning knights?
I wonder did she raise her head
And go away, fleeing the lights;
And lay the samite on her bed,
The wedding samite strewn with pearls:
Then sit with hands laid on her knees,
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