SIR KAY
A    Poem   in   the    Old   Style Written   by
JAMES   JUVENAL   HAYES
The
Dark    ttp   Harp
Press
COPYRIGHT,   1923, By   JAMES   JUVENAL   HAYES
All   Rights   Reserved

on
TO   MY   MOTHER
who has always encouraged my literary efforts
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�n <v .'i ^
SIR KAY
I.
A young man's spirit leaps within his breast, He knows whatever happens is the best; He feels the call of instinct at his heart, The throb of Nature, and he is a part Of that great universal brotherhood Of man and beast which makes him understood Of all the furry, and scale-covered things, Of all that swim with fins, or fly with wings. He feels the pulse of Nature. With the life That thrills within him, all the world is rife.
II.
So was it with Sir Kay, brown-haired and tall, (That after was made Arthur's seneschal) Erect he sat upon a snow-white horse,
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SIR   KAY
Who tossed his foam-flecked head and spurned the
gorse Beneath his polished hooves the while Sir Kay Gazed upward at his pennon floating gay Below his lance-head, while the winter air, Brilliant in shadow, clear beyond compare, Made his blood tingle and his spirits mount. He sang; the woods resounded all about:�
/ have strength, I have skill, I can do�what I willl Though   the   battle  may   roar Like the waves on a shore, My long sword in the fight With a flash as of light Hews its way to the goal. I can fight�heart and soull
He rose within his stirrups as he sang And all the corridors of forest rang-His fair young visage in his singing glowed Among the deepening shadows as he rode. His wide and deep-set eyes of greyish hue Like sparks of fire the darkening forest view. His high, wide brow, as white as walrus tusk, Showed softly bright within the gathering dusk.
SIR   KAY
7
His thin, straight lips, now parted in his song,
Seemed made for laughter.    As he rode along,
Upon his shoulder swung his burnished shield
Which bore a falcon in an azure field
The which displayed upon a scroll unfurled:
Incipit vita nova, for the world
Lay broad before him and as yet untried.
A silver bugle clinking at his side
Against his sword made music to the breeze
That flapped his pennon, sighing through the trees.
III.
Thus, with a spirit light and unafraid,
He rode into a little open glade;
And lo, within its center stood a tree
As fair as ever in this world could be,
With branches green despite the winter's cold
And on its branches birds so manifold
You scarce could see the leaves from wing to wing.
And every bird with all his throat did sing
Such lovely music on that winter's day
It stole through all the heart of young Sir Kay.
Beneath the tree there hung a silver bell,
Upon its side engraven fair and well:
Beware, beware who touches me\ For I am a bell of faerie.
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SIR   KAY
/ summon the hosts of faerieland, Which is distant far yet close at hand I I summon the knight; I summon the maid; I summon the faerie cavalcade. Beware, beware ivho touches me\ I am a bell of faerie. Sir Kay, through courtesy, though not through fear, Chose not to strike it with his pointed spear But fair dismounted.   (Let his charger stand) And swayed it gently with his naked hand. He rang it once, and twice, and thrice, and then He saw, within the shadows of the glen, Come rushing up, a milk-white doe, which stood An instant, then was gone within the wood.
IV. He sprang to saddle, and within his sight The white doe sped before in eager flight-Trie spurs were in his horse's sides, and swift As vapors from the clouded ocean lift Before the freshening breeze, his charger sped And still the white doe bounded on ahead. Through bush and brake the mad pursuit careered Till�like a flash�the white doe disappeared ! Sir Kay drew rein and found that all around The forest yielded to a meadow ground; Within its center rose, in massive towers, A little castle with its halls and bowers. The stone of which the castle walls were made
SIR   KAY
9
Was white as marble, and so smoothly laid No joint  appeared  upon  its shining side. The bridge was down, the gates stood open wide. Sir Kay rode up and from his charger tall He read this carving on the castle wall:
No helm, nor lance
Nor shield so gay, Nor sword, advance
Through  this gateway,               
He must be bold i                    Who fain would see
What I  can  hold                             ,
Of mystery^
With gates unbarred
For fearless knight. Defenceless Garde
I am y-hight.
Sir Kay took off his helmet from his head, Laid down his sword upon a grassy bed, His lance and shield upon his charger tied, And to the gateway,  all defenceless,  hied. The drawbridge echoed the unwonted sound And made the shadows of the moat resound. Beneath the portals wide and massive arch,
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SIR   KAY
With step undaunted in his fearless march, In ever deeper shadows has he gone; An owlet hooted, but Sir Kay went on.
V.
Through many doorways to an inner room Pressed on Sir Kay, and nothing broke the gloom Or silence, till at last he stood before A massive, richly-ornamented door. He held his breath,�a silence,�then a light, A tiny streak but very clear and white, Was cast across the inner courtyard's floor As with raised hand he slowly swung the door, All pearl inlaid, a little space ajar. The light within cast out a widening spar Till silently the door swung open wide And Kay plucked up his heart and peered inside-He saw a chamber hung with tapestry And furnished all in rich upholstery, With long-napped carpets on the inlaid floor, And all the woodwork carved and painted o'er Tn colors rich,�a room of heart's desire! And in a massive chimney blazed a fire. But this was naught!�for in a carved chair Before that fire there sat a form so fair Sir Kay caught in his breath and stood amazed And let his soul drink beauty as he gazed.
SIR   KAY
11
Her hair, the crowning glory of her head, Was yellow  golden   in  the   firelight's  red. It crowned her as none earthly diadem (Though formed of gold with many a glistening
gem). Her hair was fire, resembling, all in one Some daffodil-crowned hilltop in the sun. Her nose was finely arched, not over great; Her lips were full, and red, and passionate. And as she sat, she played upon a lute. Sir Kay, entranced, stood motionless and mute!
VI.
The maid, her playing finished, slowly turned Upon Sir Kay eyes large and unconcerned Within whose tranquil depths of greyish blue He guessed   a soul as loyal and as true As ever loved man. Sir Kay stood dumb; The lady smiled and motioned him to come, With faltering steps he entered and drew near That lovely maid, with mingled awe and fear, And threw himself before her on his knees The while she sang to faerie melodies:�
Stay with me, and we shall be
Knight and lady of Faerie.
We shall ride on the rainbow spray
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SIR   KAY
Over the sea at break of day. Over the fields and over the town We shall ride on the thistle-down. All night long, while the cricket sings, We shall dance in the faerie rings. In swinging bird' s-nests we shall lie, The wind shall sing us lullaby. Stay with me, and we shall be Knight and lady of Faerie.
Sir Kay, enraptured, laid his charmed head Against her knees; the drowsy fire-light shed Its beams upon him and he fell asleep His long limbs pillowed on the carpets deep.
VII.
Sir Kay, half waking in that blissful night,
Beheld the great Orion in his fight
With mighty Taurus, wThich is never done,
Within the casement framed; and one by one
The candles of the stars go slowly by
The while he felt himself secure to lie
And wish that night might outlast all the stars-
When suddenly across the window-bars
Appeared a fo^m�a stocky, wide-built churl,
With jaunty insolence, his lips acurl.
Tossing the matted ringlets on his head,
He swaggered to the prostrate Kay and said:�
SIR   KAY
13
Quite lost and vain
All you can do. Content you,   man,
She's not for you.
You cannot win
This lady dear, I  have   her  heart,�
/ keep it here.
While saying this he pulled his shirt apart And drew thereout a crystal, bleeding heart Which shone transparent with a light so clear, Like diamond set in lead, it seemed more dear. He broke it, with his dusky hands, in twain And let the blood run out in quivering pain! Sir Kay sprang up.    No further could he stand. He groped for his sword-hilt with his hand But found it not. The vision creature grinned All insolently proud that he had sinned; About him seemed a female form to fawn An instant, then the loathly pair were gone.� Sir Kay made after crying, "Caitiff, yield!" But found himself alone within the field. No more the carpets on the inlaid floor, No more the castle, and the gates no more. But once, from out the neighboring forest deep� Was it the wind, or did a lady weep?
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SIR   KAY
VIII.
Sir Kay, amazed, explored the meadow side
With hope expectant, ranging far and wide,
As ii he thought, beyond some wall of air,
Once more to find his lady's castle there,
But all in vain. The morning's feeble ray
Came heralding a bleak and dismal day.
He found his horse, his lance, his sword, his shield,
Where he had left them on the open field
And putting on his    helm, he mounted slow
Upon his charger's back, and bade him go
He cared not whither.    With dejected head
He mused upon that lady white and red
Who had so Fmiled upon him, and his heart
Was cold within his breast and sat apart
As doth a heron on the lonely rock
Before a cavern by some mountain loch.
The birds that sang so blithe he could not hear;
The wind made moaning in the forest drear
Which yesterday had sighed so soft; the air,
Which only yesterday had been so sweet,
Was bleak and cold; he shivered in his seat!
Throughout that day he wandered searching well
But could not find again the silver bell,
The tree of birds, nor yet the doe so white.
At last, despairing, thus he told the night:
SIR   KAY
15
Adown the long dark corridors of space, Whose sable curtains hold the twinkling stars, My yearning heart looks out, but from the gloom I hear no call for me, I see no light, For all is silent as a windless plain And all is bleak before my eyes and heart. All things, too far away for me to reach, All things move on: the ever-burning suns, The planets in their spheres, the satellites, And I am left behind them and alone,
IX-
From that day forth Sir Kay with spirit grim
Took up his fight. There was no joy for him
In all the world, yet he so much a man
He could not weakly die as others can
But fought his fight courageously and well.
The torments that he suffered, who can tell?
The good King Arthur made him seneschal
Because he was so stern and bold withal,
But when some young knight praised his leman dear
He could not quite repress the bitter sneer,
He needs must think upon his lady fair
With sea-like eyes and fire-illumined hair.
Each Winter when approached their meeting-day
To seek Defenceless Garde he took his way,
And ever as he met a valiant knight
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SIR   KAY
He fought, but hoped he might be killed outright,
And was in truth from horse so often borne
His   fellow   knights  would   give  him   naught  but
scorn As patiently he travelled in the night To search the forest for that castle's light. He never found it, so most writers say, And thus he died: "The cynical Sir Kay!"