Early poems of William Morris

by William Morris

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

⁠"… In that garden fair
Came Launcelot walking; this is true, the kiss
Wherewith we kissed in meeting that spring day,
I scarce dare talk of the remember'd bliss."

—The Defence of Guenevere, p. 8.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

	PAGE
THE DEFENCE OF GUENEVERE	1
KING ARTHUR'S TOMB	15
SIR GALAHAD, A CHRISTMAS MYSTERY	32
THE CHAPEL IN LYONESS	41
SIR PETER HARPDON'S END	47
RAPUNZEL	80
THE BLUE CLOSET	97
CONCERNING GEFFRAY TESTE NOIRE	101
A GOOD KNIGHT IN PRISON	111
GOLDEN WINGS	119
THE EVE OF CRECY	128
OLD LOVE	133
FATHER JOHN'S WAR SONG	136
THE GILLIFLOWER OF GOLD	139
THE JUDGMENT OF GOD	142
SHAMEFUL DEATH	148
THE SAILING OF THE SWORD	150
THE LITTLE TOWER	153
THE WIND	156
SPELLBOUND	160
THE TUNE OF SEVEN TOWERS	166
TWO RED ROSES ACROSS THE MOON	168
THE HAYSTACK IN THE FLOODS	170
WELLAND RIVER	176
RIDING TOGETHER	182
SIR GILES' WAR SONG	185
NEAR AVALON	186
PRAISE OF MY LADY	189
SUMMER DAWN	193
IN PRISON	194

 

 

 

 

	PAGE
⁠"… In that garden fair Came Launcelot walking; this is true, the kiss Wherewith we kissed in meeting that spring day, I scarce dare talk of the remember'd bliss "	Frontispiece⁠8
"And one of these strange choosing cloths was blue, Wavy and long, and one cut short and red ; No man could tell the better of the two"	2
⁠"Guenevere! Guenevere! Do you not know me, are you gone mad?'	22
"Rise up, and look and listen, Galahad"	36
How thief! thief! thief! so there, fair thief, so there	58
Suppose this had not happen'd after all; I will lean out again and watch for news	78
My mother taught me prayers To say when I had need	86
"O, sisters, cross the bridge with me, ⁠My eyes are full of sand. What matter that I cannot see, ⁠If ye take me by the hand?"	100
Fair Jehane du Castel beau Wore her wreath till it was dead	122
But she is a housewife good and wary, And a great steel key hangs bright From her gown, as red as the flowers in corn	136
Beneath an apple-tree our heads Stretched out toward the sea	150
"Wind, wind! thou art sad, art thou kind? Wind, wind, unhappy! thou art blind, Yet still thou wanderest the lily-seed to find"	156
No one walks there now; ⁠Except in the white moonlight The white ghosts walk in a row	166
Then Godmar turn'd again and said: "So, Jehane, the first fitte is read! Take note, my lady, that your way Lies backward to the Chatelet!"	174
⁠My prison-bars are thick and strong, I take no heed of any weather, ⁠The sweet Saints grant I live not long	182
Pray but one prayer for me 'twixt thy closed lips, Think but one thought of me up in the stars	192

 

 

 

 

 

 

	PAGE
"Nevertheless you, O Sir Gauwaine, lie"	5
"And by him Palomydes, helmet off ⁠He fought"	27
No long time hence, also I see Thy wasted fingers twine Within the tresses of her hair That shineth gloriously	43
⁠⁠I will run fast, leap adown The slippery sea-stairs, where the crabs fight	71
A sweet bow'd-down face with yellow hair	91
And over it they lay, with stone-white hands Clasped fast together	109
⁠I kiss the Lady Mary's head, Her lips, and her hair golden red, Because to-day we have been wed	115
Ah! qu'elle est belle La Marguerite	129
"and in The order'd garden you would seek The biggest roses—any sin"	143
I hear the tinkling of the bell, ⁠I see the cross against the sky	161
O, why does yon pale face look at me ⁠From out the golden cloth?	179
Six maidens round the mast, A red-gold crown on every one, A green gown on the last	187