SIR ELDRIC rode by field and fen To reach the haunts of heathen men. About the dusk he came into A wood of birchen grey, And on the other side he knew The heathen country lay. "'Tis but a night (he sang) to ride, And Christ shall reach the other side!" The moon came peering thro' the trees And found him undismayed, For still he sang his litanies And as he rode he prayed. He looked as young, as pure and glad As ever looked Sir Galahad. About the middle of the night He came upon the brink, Of running waters cool and white And lighted there to drink. And as he knelt a hidden foe Crept from behind and smote him so. He turned; he felt his heart's blood run; He sought his enemy: "And shall I leave my deeds undone, And die for such as thee?" And since a Knight was either man, They wrestled till the dawn began. Then in the dim and rustling place Amid the thyme and dew, Sir Eldric dealt the stroke of grace, And sank a-dying too, And thought upon that other's plight Who was not sure of Heaven that night. He dipped his fingers in his breast; He sought in vain to rise; He leaned across his foe at rest, And murmured, "I baptize!" When lo! the sun broke overhead: There, at his side, Himself lay dead! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE DOLL BELIEVERS by CLARENCE MAJOR SPIRITUAL ISOLATION: A FRAGMENT by ISAAC ROSENBERG MY DEARLING by ELIZABETH AKERS ALLEN APOLOGIA PRO VITA SUA by SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE FAREWELL TO LOVE; SONNET by SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE |