"Give me my bow," said Robin Hood, <br /> "An arrow give to me; <br />And where 't is shot mark thou that spot, <br /> For there my grave shall be." <br /> <br />Then Little John did make no sign, <br /> And not a word he spake; <br />But he smiled, altho' with mickle woe <br /> His heart was like to break. <br /> <br />He raised his master in his arms, <br /> And set him on his knee; <br />And Robin's eyes beheld the skies, <br /> The shaws, the greenwood tree. <br /> <br />The brook was babbling as of old, <br /> The birds sang full and clear, <br />And the wild-flowers gay like a carpet lay <br /> In the path of the timid deer. <br /> <br />"O Little John," said Robin Hood, <br /> "Meseemeth now to be <br />Standing with you so stanch and true <br /> Under the greenwood tree. <br /> <br />"And all around I hear the sound <br /> Of Sherwood long ago, <br />And my merry men come back again,-- <br /> You know, sweet friend, you know! <br /> <br />"Now mark this arrow; where it falls, <br /> When I am dead dig deep, <br />And bury me there in the greenwood where <br /> I would forever sleep." <br /> <br />He twanged his bow. Upon its course <br /> The clothyard arrow sped, <br />And when it fell in yonder dell, <br /> Brave Robin Hood was dead. <br /> <br />The sheriff sleeps in a marble vault, <br /> The king in a shroud of gold; <br />And upon the air with a chanted pray'r <br /> Mingles the mock of mould. <br /> <br />But the deer draw to the shady pool, <br /> The birds sing blithe and free, <br />And the wild-flow'rs bloom o'er a hidden tomb <br /> Under the greenwood tree.<br /><br />Eugene Field<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-death-of-robin-hood/
