A Tale of Two Knights

One night in late Decemberish

Beneath a dark and brooding sky

Rode brave and bold Sir Tally-Ho

And the Black Knight, Tatty-By

Sir Tally-Ho in armour fine

With sword and shield and spurs of gold

Sat high upon a milk-white horse

Its warm breath freezing in the cold

On a coal-black mare rode Tatty-By

A-stomping on the frozen ground

To shield him from the ice and snow

A wolf-skin cloak wrapped tight around

Ice and snow

Ice and snow

Upon the trees and earth below

Upon the Field of Morrowmoor

Where met the brave Sir Tally-Ho

And the Black Knight, Tatty-By

One night in late Decemberish

Beneath a dark and brooding sky

Sir Tally-Ho by brookside paused

To quench his weary thirst, and rest

But as he stooped o’er the frozen lake

The ice reflected clear as glass

An image of his true-love laid

As if in death, but recent passed,

A lace veil drawn across her face

And at her breast both hands were clasped.

‘An evil omen this must be

To show my true-love so to me

Have I not left her two days since

Waving from her balcony?’

Up spoke a raven roosting near

‘An image only this will be

But come to pass it will, I fear,

Unless you meet your enemy

In battle by the third month hence

Upon the Field of Morrowmoor

And spill his blood upon the ground

Crimson ‘gainst the frost and hoar’

Frost and hoar

Frost and hoar

Upon the Field of Morrowmoor

Where fought the brave Sir Tally-Ho

And the Black Knight, Tatty-By

That night in late Decemberish,

So very long ago

And so set forth Sir Tally-Ho

Riding high and riding low

For forty days and fifty nights

And many more besides,

The land in ever-winter gripped

No breath, no life, save his alone

The ground as iron, hard as stone

The raven close behind

The black knight rode o’er hill and dale

Drawing with him in his wake

Horrors beneath night’s dark veil

And all around the earth did shake.

All Man’s defences built to last

Trembled as the knight rode past

And fell before his bloody lust

Leaving nought but ash and dust

Ash and dust

Ash and dust

A wilderness of dirt and rust

Upon the Field of Morrowmoor

Where Tally-Ho fought Tatty-By

Beneath a dark and brooding sky

So many years ago

And so at last it came to pass

The two knights met on Morrowmoor

And seeing naught but polished glass

They stood and stared in awe.

A mirror stretching wide and high

They looked into each others' eyes

Reflected in reflections on

And silence all around.

Then spake the white knight angrily

'What meaning here? How can this be?

I came to meet my enemy

Lest my true love should die.'

‘Ah, foolish man, can you not see?

That I am you and you are me?

I am the darkness in your soul

I am the part that makes you whole

And standing here on Morrowmoor

We are each other, nothing more,

And you will know no other love

Until you've bested me.'

Sword-blades thrust and armour flashed,

First a parry then a clash,

A high, a low, an in-between,

And not a pause for breath.

By light of sun and dark of moon

The knights in constant combat spin

For full four weeks ‘til both were spent

But neither could advantage win.

Their battle clean the mirror smashed

And shards of glass rained all around

And where these stabbed the barren ground

A blade of grass was born.

The two knights both exhausted stood

Fought to a standstill; they took root

Their armour rusted in the rain

And, to my knowledge, both remain.

Ages pass,

Tall grows the grass,

Long fingers gripping root and branch,

Two trees that from a clearing rose

Where once stood brave Sir Tally-Ho

And the Black Knight, Tatty-By

One night in late Decemberish,

Beneath a dark and brooding sky

So very long ago