LADY, dar'st thou seek the shore Which ne'er woman's footstep bore; -- Where beneath yon rugged steep, Restless rolls the darksome deep? Dar'st thou, though thy blood run chill, Thither speed at midnight still -- And when Horror rules the sky, Raise for lover lost the cry? Dar'st thou at that ghastliest hour Breathe the word of magic power -- Word that breaks the mermaid's spell, Which false lover knows too well? When affrighted spectres rise 'Twixt pale floods and ebon skies, Dar'st thou, reft of maiden fear, Bid the Water-Witch appear? When upon the sallow tide Pearly elfin boat does glide, When the mystic oar is heard, Like the wing of baleful bird -- Dar'st thou with a voice of might Call upon thy spell-bound knight? When the shallop neareth land, Dar'st thou, with thy snow-white hand, Boldly on the warrior's breast Place the Cross by Churchman blest? -- When is done this work of peril, Thou hast won proud Ulster's Earl! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...MARRIAGE A LA MODE: SONG by JOHN DRYDEN TO GIOVANNI DA PISTOIA ON THE PAINTING OF THE SISTINE CHAPEL, 1509 by MICHELANGELO BUONARROTI HUGH SELWYN MAUBERLEY: 8. BRENNBAUM by EZRA POUND A DUTCH PROVERB by MATTHEW PRIOR |