Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, BALLADE MORALE, by NEIL TRACY


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

BALLADE MORALE, by                    
First Line: Says auccasain to nicolette
Last Line: "alas, my lord, you give me pain."
Subject(s): Relationships


Says Auccasain to Nicolette,
"The year is old, the night is wet;
My door is safe with bar and chain,
Stout is my roof against the rain;
With song the fire and feast are set;
The spring will fetch brave days again;
I pray you, do not leave me yet."

Says Nicolette to Auccasain,
"I sought the little leaded pane;
My starved late-wandering vision met,
A-gleam with silver and with jet,
A goodly youth who swept the plain:
While you, with paunch and jowl beset,
Relive dead deeds within the brain."

Says Auccasain to Nicolette,
"Betimes, I walked the parapet;
I spied a maid amid the grain,
Singing an old Provençal strain:
Her languid lips and eyes beget
In me the follies of a swain:
What, Madame, do you tarry yet?"

L'Envoi

Says Nicolette to Auccasain,
"How am I used? would I forget
Old glory, for a raw cadet?
Alas, my lord, you give me pain."





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