Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE LADY JACQUELINE, by PHOEBE CARY


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE LADY JACQUELINE, by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: False and fickle, or fair and sweet
Last Line: Said the lady jaqueline.
Subject(s): Fidelity


"FALSE and fickle, or fair and sweet,
I care not for the rest,
The lover that knelt last night at my feet
Was the bravest and the best.
Let them perish all, for their power has waned,
And their glory waxed dim;
They were well enough while they lived and reigned,
But never was one like him!
And never one from the past would I bring
Again, and call him mine; --
The King is dead, long live the King!"
Said the Lady Jaqueline.

"In the old, old days, when life was new,
And the world upon me smiled,
A pretty, dainty lover I had,
Whom I loved with the heart of a child.
When the buried sun of yesterday
Comes back from the shadows dim,
Then may his love return to me,
And the love I had for him!
But since to-day hath a better thing
To give, I'll ne'er repine; --
The King is dead, long live the King!"
Said the Lady Jaqueline.

"And yet it almost makes me weep,
Aye! weep, and cry, alas!
When I think of one who lies asleep
Down under the quiet grass.
For he loved me well, and I loved again,
And low in homage bent,
And prayed for his long and prosperous reign,
In our realm of sweet content.
But not to the dead may the living cling,
Nor kneel at an empty shrine; --
The King is dead, long live the King!"
Said the Lady Jaqueline.

"Once, caught by the sheen of stars and lace,
I bowed for a single day,
To a poor pretender, mean and base,
Unfit for place or sway.
That must have been the work of a spell,
For the foolish glamour fled,
As the sceptre from his weak hand fell,
And the crown from his feeble head;
But homage true at last I bring
To this rightful lord of mine, --
The King is dead, long live the King!"
Said the Lady Jaqueline.

"By the hand of one I held most dear,
And called my liege, my own!
I was set aside in a single year,
And a new queen shares his throne.
To him who is false, and him who is wed,
Shall I give my fealty?
Nay, the dead one is not half so dead
As the false one is to me!
My faith to the faithful now I bring,
The faithless I resign; --
The King is dead, long live the King!"
Said the Lady Jaqueline.

"Yea, all my lovers and kings that were
Are dead, and hid away,
In the past, as in a sepulchre,
Shut up till the judgment day.
False or fickle, or weak or wed,
They are all alike to me;
And mine eyes no more can be misled, --
They have looked on royalty!
Then bring me wine, and garlands bring
For my king of the right divine; --
The King is dead, long live the King!"
Said the Lady Jaqueline.





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