John Keats

“La Belle Dame Sans Merci"

o what can ail thee, knight at arms,
alone and palely loitering?
the sedge is wither"d from the lake,
and no birds sing.

o what can ail thee, knight at arms,
so haggard and so woe-begone?
the squirrel"s granary is full,
and the harvest"s done.

i see a lily on thy brow
with anguish moist and fever dew,
and on thy cheeks a fading rose
fast withereth too.

i met a lady in the meads
full beautiful, a faery"s child;
her hair was long, her foot was light,
and her eyes were wild.

i made a garland for her head,
and bracelets too, and fragrant zone;
she look"d at me as she did love,
and made sweet moan.

i set her on my pacing steed,
and nothing else saw all day long,
for sidelong would she bend, and sing
a faery"s song.

she found me roots of relish sweet,
and honey wild, and manna dew,
and sure in language strange she said-
i love thee true.

she took me to her elfin grot,
and there she wept, and sigh"d full sore,
and there i shut her wild wild eyes
with kisses four.

and there she lulled me asleep,
and there i dream"d-ah! woe betide!
the latest dream i ever dream"d
on the cold hill"s side.

i saw pale kings, and princes too,
pale warriors, death-pale were they all;
they cried-"la belle dame sans merci
hath thee in thrall!"

i saw their starv"d lips in the gloam
with horrid warning gaped wide,
and i awoke, and found me here
on the cold hill"s side.

and this is why i sojourn here,
alone and palely loitering,
though the sedge is wither"d from the lake,
and no birds sing.