Here was a man who shew forth no fear,
Here he stood afore me, so old,
The tale of armour remained untold,
In the corner of his eye slept a frozen tear,
He stood there calmly in the cold,
And he spoke, his voice boomed so bold,
His raiment bespoke of him, the Quaint Cavalier.
"Twas a golden morning, a brilliant, shining sun,
I, afore my king as a vassal has hitherto done,"
He spoke, his voice cold with early morning air,
"Made an oath of alliegence for a lady fair,
according to mine honour, I will do right,
in everything I have or see, in power of my might.
"Yet one evening cold, and a rapping at my door,
'T was opened by the maid, and in upon the floor,
Came a metal clink, it resounded round about,
So now saw I, the Prince of men, crying in his pout,
And he dropped to his knees, said a flattering word,
I knew what he said was wrong, rest assured."
Here afore me, a man who shew no fear,
There he stood, to me so very old,
The tale of his armour still partially untold,
In the corner of his eye slept a frozen tear,
He stood there calmly, waiting in the cold,
He spoke again, his voice not as bold,
His raiment bespoke of him, this Quaint Cavalier.
"He cried and he begged, pleading for my strength,
To send his King Father death, going at lengths,
And he pulled from his purse, a tightly closed fist,
And slowly opened up, 't was quite a lengthy list,
For in his hand held he, the wealth of many King,
I knew what he wanted was ne'er the right thing.
"In my heart I knew a knights oath unto his lord,
Should mean much, much more than a precious hoard,
Of glinting gems inside this mans hand and heart,
But more than gems pulled he from his part,
And was I smart, I would not be so greedy a cuss,
But my spirit was weak with the strength of lust."
Here afore me, a man who shew no fear,
There he stood, aging in the cold,
The tale of his armour, beginning to be told,
In the corner of his eye, melted that horrible, frozen tear,
While he stood there calmly, his face, so old,
And once more began he, his voice no more bold,
His armour and surcoat ripped, the Quaint Cavalier.
"So, I took the payment from the shaking hand,
And listened to his tale, that lie should be banned,"
Cried he the Knight, the moral of his old tale,
"And I took him in, we sang and drank evil ale,
And late that night, as time passed on, I rode forward fast,
'T was I who weren't as strong as mid beam or mast.
"And I rode to the Castle, set on top of the rocks,
And rode into the city, past those great locks,
For toward the drawbridge, set vaguely o'er the moat,
And each echoing step round about me did float,
Yet rode to the rest room, of my great King,
And I unsheathed my blade with a silent ring."
Here afore me stood a man of nonexistant fear,
There his aging bones walked upright, so old,
The tale of his surcoat beginning to unfold,
In the corner of his eye, now a fresh droplet, his tear,
While he abode upon his feet so cold,
And once more he started, his tale to be told,
His armour and his weapon rusted, the Quaint Cavalier.
"I pitied my old Sire, and raised him from his bed
A look of fear flashed across this man's head,
So I took him captive, his face changed to green,
But I realized not what my master had seen,
But turning around flat, I finally did see,
And opened the King's hand, and poured my wealth free.
"I spoke to him rightly, calming his fear,
He listened to my tale, his warmth coming near,
He clapped me heartly upon my steel back,
And spoke to his guards, with loving slack,
Telling to fetch his hard, cowering son,
My oath was still there, strong as any one."
Here afore me stood a knight of tear,
His wrinkled skin showing, he was so old,
The tale of life he had begun to unfold,
And the heart had been loosed, he had no more fear,
While still abode he upon his feet so cold,
And finished he, the moral to be told,
His raiment bespoke him, this Quaint Cavalier.
"The moral for my tale, as simple as can be,
Is to follow promises, made by you and me,
For with out our strength, we'd be good as dead,
A few more powerful people working in our stead,
Because our morals make us who we are,
To the rest of the nation, become we a star,
"And a lighthouse to the storm tossed sea,
Leading a life of immense, superiour quality,
For those around us need our guiding light,
To procure and to enable proper second sight,
But If we break our pledges, vows, and oaths,
Become we to our peers, much intern to loathe."
As he stood afore me, I could feel him near,
There his aging body nearly toppled, so old,
The tale of his fearsome plight, now it has been told,
Said He:
In our subsistance, in our living life,
We may come across many a horrid strife.
He let out a sigh of relief, it resounded like a cheer,
And I pulled out the growing plant, a very deadly mold,
of breaking vows and promises, because, now I have been told,
Said He:
But why the Lord commands, is not to remove life,
But to show the way to freedom, without the pains of strife.
We must learn and we must teach, 't is why we grow old,
But after we have learned our lessons, our children must be told,
A moral told by this great man, my Quaint Cavalier.