La Belle Dame Sans Merci

John Keats

I.

O what can ail thee, knight-at-arms,
Alone and palely loitering?
The sedge has wither'd from the lake,
And no birds sing.

II.

O what can ail thee, knight-at-arms!
So haggard and so woe-begone?
The squirrels granary is full,
And the harvests done.

III.

I see a lily on thy brow
With anguish moist and fever dew,
And on thy cheeks a fading rose
Fast withereth too.

IV.

I met a lady in the meads,
Full beautifula faerys child,
Her hair was long, her foot was light,
And her eyes were wild. V.

I made a garland for her head,
And bracelets too, and fragrant zone;
She lookd at me as she did love,
And made sweet moan.

VI.

I set her on my pacing steed,
And nothing else saw all day long,
For sidelong would she bend, and sing
A faerys song.

VII.

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

VIII.

She took me to her elfin grot,
And there she wept, and sighd fill sore,
And there I shut her wild wild eyes
With kisses four.

IX.

And there she lulled me asleep,
And there I dreamdAh! woe betide!
The latest dream I ever dreamd
On the cold hills side.

X.

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!"

XI.

saw their starved lips in the gloam,

With horrid warning gaped wide, And I awoke and found me here, On the cold hills side.

XII.

And this is why I sojourn here,
Alone and palely loitering,
Though the sedge is wither'd from the lake,
And no birds sing.

Last modified 16 May 2001