Classic Poem

Then all the three assailed me once again,
And each one tried to kick me out-of-doors;
Nor could this trial have given me more grief
If they had tried to crucify me there.
I tried to cry for mercy, but my voice
Was weak; my piteous shout could scarcely reach
My friends, whose duty 'twas to succor me,
And call them to the assault. It was perceived
By sentinels they'd set to guard the host,
Who, when they heard the noise, set up a shout:
" Up, barons, up! Let each appear in arms
Quickly to aid this faithful lover here,
Who's surely lost unless God lends His love.
The guardians have bound and beaten him —
Belabored him with rods. He will be killed
Or crucified. Just now we heard him cry
For mercy in a voice so faint, though clear,
That scarcely could we hear him; but 'twould seem
To one who heard that stifled scream or yell
Some clutch upon his throat had made him hoarse
Or that by strangling they were killing him.
Already have they so shut off his breath
That he dare not, or cannot, cry aloud.
We don't know what he's going to do; but they
Are adversaries far too strong for him.
He can but die unless he's helped at once.
Fair Welcome, who had comforted him so much,
Fled at full speed. Now he needs other help
That he Fair Welcome's comfort may regain.
From now on there is need for armored knights. "
The three had surely killed me, had the host
Delayed their coming. But the barons jumped
To arms as soon as they heard, saw, and knew
That I had lost my solace and my joy.
As for myself, so tangled in the snares,
In which so many folk by Love are caught,
Was I, that without stirring from the spot
I watched the tournament that fiercely broke.
Soon as the guardians knew how great a host
They had against them, they themselves allied
With oaths and pledges swearing to give aid
Each to the other to their utmost power
And never to submit to any truce
Or separate peace so long as each should live
I grieved at this alliance as I watched
Their faces and their manner resolute.
Those of the host, when they saw, in their turn,
The alliance made, assembled and joined hands.
They would not separate, but rather swore
To fight till in the place they should lie dead
Or till they should be overcome and seized
Or till they should have won the victory.
All were wrought up to quell the guardians' pride.
Now to the battle we shall come ere long,
And you shall hear how stoutly each of them could fight.