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Classic and Contemporary Poetry


THE SQUIRE by WILLIAM ALEXANDER PERCY

First Line: I HAVE SUNG ME A STAVE, A STAVE OR TWO
Last Line: THAT EVER DEATH DID HOUSE.
Subject(s): DEATH; DRINKS & DRINKING; SEA; DEAD, THE; WINE; OCEAN;

I have sung me a stave, a stave or two,
I have drunk me a stoop of wine,
I have roystered across a world that was dew
And a sea that was sunlight and brine.

And now I'll go down where the need is not
Of a singing heart, but a sword;
I'll fight where the dead men welter and rot
With the hard-pressed hosts of the Lord.

And should I come back again, 'twill be
With accolade and spurs,
And many a tale of chivalry,
And the deeds of warriors.

And should I not, O break for me
No buds nor funeral boughs --
I go with the noblest company
That ever death did house.



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