All life went forth, and the forest fled
Before the face of the King.
Before the face of the King.
But halted in the woodways
Christ's few were grim and grey,
And each with a small, far, bird-like sight
Saw the high folly of the fight;
And though strange joys had grown in the night,
Despair grew with the day.
Christ's few were grim and grey,
And each with a small, far, bird-like sight
Saw the high folly of the fight;
And though strange joys had grown in the night,
Despair grew with the day.
And then white dawn crawled through the wood
Like cold foam of a flood,
Then weakened every warrior's mood,
In hope though not in hardihood;
And each man sorrowed as he stood
In the fashion of his blood.
Like cold foam of a flood,
Then weakened every warrior's mood,
In hope though not in hardihood;
And each man sorrowed as he stood
In the fashion of his blood.
For the Saxon Franklin sorrowed
For the things that had been fair,
For the dear, dead women, crimson-clad,
And the great feasts and the friends he had;
But the Celtic prince's soul was sad
For the things that never were.
For the things that had been fair,
For the dear, dead women, crimson-clad,
And the great feasts and the friends he had;
But the Celtic prince's soul was sad
For the things that never were.
In the eyes Italian all things
But a black laughter died;
And Alfred flung his shield to earth
And smote his breast and cried —
But a black laughter died;
And Alfred flung his shield to earth
And smote his breast and cried —
69
