Guinevere
by John Reed (1887-1920)

A thousand years ago we two were young
And dwelt in that gray castle by the sea,
Whose sombre surges swayed eternally
The dreary rhythm of some forgotten song;
And nothing lived nor moved the whole day long
Save you and I; and through our ceaseless tears
We saw the vista of those tragic years,
And godlike Arthur’s soul with passion wrung.

List to the awful kingly dirge; the sea
Pours out his grieving heart with anguished wail
Against the gray deserted cliffs, the while
A dazzling presence shows its light to me;
I, blinded, whisper, “Art thou, then, the Grail?”
And “Nay” it answers, “but the sad queen’s smile.”

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