The Romanza

In a kingdom of mist and moonlight,
Or ever the world was known,
Past leagues of unsailed water,
There reigned a king with a daughter
That shone like a starry stone.

The day grew out o' the moonlight;
But never a day was there.
The king was wise as hoary,
And his daughter, like the glory
Of seven kingdoms, fair.

And the night dimmed over the moonlight, -
And ever the mist was gray, -
With slips of dull stars, bluer
Where the princess met her wooer,
A page like the month o' May.

In her eyes the mist, and the moonlight
In hair of a crumpled gold;
By day they wooed a-hawking,
A-hawking laughed, a-mocking
The good, white king and old.

On the sea the mist, and the moonlight
Poured pale to the lilies' tips; -
At eve, when the hawks were feeding,
In courts to the kennels leading,
He kissed her mouth and lips.

On towers the mist, and the moonlight
On a dead face staring up; -
His kingly couch was ready,
But and her hand was steady
Giving the poisoned cup.