South Fork Poetry: ‘La Belle Dame Sans Merci II’
By Dan Marsh
(Keats Observes the Last World Series Game of the Year)
O what can ail thee, knight-at-arms,
Alone and palely loitering?
The sedge has withered from the lake,
And no birds sing.
O what can ail thee, knight-at-arms,
So haggard and so woe-begone?
The squirrel’s granary is full,
And the harvest’s done.
To Oriole and Cardinal
And Blue Jay
The Dame exclaims, “Fly home, fly home!
Fast as you may!
Tarry not at branch or base or grassy lie:
There will be NO GAME TODAY.”
Dan Marsh is a native Long Islander with roots in Springs. He lives in Garrett Park, Md.