SIDNEY LANIER
417
Joust Second
A-many sweet eyes wept and wept,
A-many bosoms heaved again;
A-many dainty dead hopes slept
With yonder Heart-knight prone o'er the plain.
A-many bosoms heaved again;
A-many dainty dead hopes slept
With yonder Heart-knight prone o'er the plain.
Yet stars will burn through any mists,
And the ladies' eyes, through rains of fate,
Still beamed upon the bloody lists
And lit the joust of Love and Hate.
And the ladies' eyes, through rains of fate,
Still beamed upon the bloody lists
And lit the joust of Love and Hate.
O strange! or ere a trumpet blew,
Or ere a challenge-word was given,
A knight leapt down i' the lists; none knew
Whether he sprang from earth or heaven.
Or ere a challenge-word was given,
A knight leapt down i' the lists; none knew
Whether he sprang from earth or heaven.
His cheek was soft as a lily-bud,
His gray eyes calmed his youth's alarm;
Nor helm nor hauberk nor even a hood
Had he to shield his life from harm.
His gray eyes calmed his youth's alarm;
Nor helm nor hauberk nor even a hood
Had he to shield his life from harm.
No falchion from his baldric swung,
He wore a white rose in its place.
No dagger at his girdle hung,
But only an olive branch, for grace.
He wore a white rose in its place.
No dagger at his girdle hung,
But only an olive branch, for grace.
And, "Come, thou poor mistaken knight,"
Cried Love, unarmed, yet dauntless there,
"Come on, God pity thee!—I fight
Sans sword, sans shield; yet, Hate, beware!"
Cried Love, unarmed, yet dauntless there,
"Come on, God pity thee!—I fight
Sans sword, sans shield; yet, Hate, beware!"
