The Lass

Far away in the woods,
In a long ago time
I loved a pretty lass
Oh! She was mine.

Her eyes were two endless pools,
Lips pure honey.
You could not buy a smile like hers
For all the king’s money.

She walked fearless, nimble,
With wild curls and unbraided hair
She was nature’s daughter
I a mortal, mere.

The birds flocked to her
When she set a tune on the hill
I was a city cad,
But she loved me still.

Why she favoured me so
I never quite knew.
She was life and she was blood
And my talents sadly few

Perhaps she loved my books,
The clever talk and smart ways.
She clapped her hands at my poor jokes,
How sweet and happy were those days.

But a fool was I
Nothing could still my mind.
Doubt wrapped like black plague
No reason could it bind.

How she could love
A man such as me,
When princes and nobles of many lands
Could hers surely be?

And what if I was a village bum
With nothing bright to say,
Would she love me still?
She laughed and teasing me, ran away.

With distrust I recoiled
When she gently touched me now
Strange questions I asked her
My good lass, I troubled her how.

Slowly darkness set in those happy eyes
They grew sad and deep.
At my curious madness,
They could only sigh and weep.

At last I broke her heart in full.
And the magnificient dame
disappeared into the woods
The way she came.

Before she left,
She laughed sadly and said,
I did not love your smile,
Or your hair as you loved mine.
I did not love your books,
the way you loved my looks.
I did not love your wit
The way you loved my dimple pits.
My poor, unhappy lover.
I loved you for you!

Far away in the woods,
In a long ago time
I loved a pretty lass
Alas! She was almost mine.