I thought to do a deed of chivalry, An act of worth, which haply in her sight Who was my mistress should recorded be And of the nations. And, when thus the fight Faltered and men once bold with faces white Turned this and that way in excuse to flee, I only stood, and by the foeman's might Was overborne and mangled cruelly. Then crawled I to her feet, in whose dear cause I made this venture, and "Behold," I said, "How I am wounded for thee in these wars." But she, "Poor cripple, wouldst thou I should wed A limbless trunk?" and laughing turned from me. Yet was she fair, and her name "Liberty." | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...HERO-WORSHIP; SONNET by AMY LOWELL AT CANDLE-LIGHTIN' TIME by PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR FOUR QUARTETS: BURNT NORTON by THOMAS STEARNS ELIOT THE BELLS OF LONDON by MOTHER GOOSE ALL THINGS CAN TEMPT ME by WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS |