Blue-eyed was Elf the minstrel,
With womanish hair and ring,
Yet heavy was his hand on sword,
Though light upon the string.
And as he stirred the strings of the harp
To notes but four or five,
The heart of each man moved in him
Like a babe buried alive.
And they felt the land of the folk-songs
Spread southward of the Dane,
And they heard the good Rhine flowing
In the heart of all Allemagne.
They felt the land of the folk-songs,
Where the gifts hang on the tree,
Where the girls give ale at morning
And the tears come easily,
The mighty people, womanlike,
That have pleasure in their pain;
As he sang of Balder beautiful,
Whom the heavens loved in vain.
As he sang of Balder beautiful,
Whom the heavens could not save,
Till the world was like a sea of tears
And every soul a wave.
‘There is always a thing forgotten
When all the world goes well;
A thing forgotten, as long ago
When the gods forgot the mistletoe,
And soundless as an arrow of snow
The arrow of anguish fell.
‘The thing on the blind side of the heart,
On the wrong side of the door;
The green plant groweth, menacing
Almighty lovers in the spring;
There is always a forgotten thing,
And love is not secure.’
(Gilbert Keith Chesterton)
More Poetry from Gilbert Keith Chesterton:
Gilbert Keith Chesterton Poems based on Topics: God, World, Nature, Love, Sadness, Snow, People, Morning, Beauty, Charity, Pain- The Wild Knight (Gilbert Keith Chesterton Poems)
- The Ballad of St. Barbara (Gilbert Keith Chesterton Poems)
- Lepanto (Gilbert Keith Chesterton Poems)
- The Ballad Of The Battle Of Gibeon (Gilbert Keith Chesterton Poems)
- A Wedding In War-Time (Gilbert Keith Chesterton Poems)
- On the Disastrous Spread of Aestheticism in all Classes (Gilbert Keith Chesterton Poems)
Readers Who Like This Poem Also Like:
Based on Topics: Love Poems, God Poems, World Poems, Sadness Poems, Nature Poems, Beauty Poems, Pain Poems, Spring Poems, Morning Poems, People Poems, Charity PoemsBased on Keywords: womanish, balder, womanlike, folk-songs, allemagne