'NEWS to the king, good news for all,' <br />The corn is trodden, the river runs red. <br />'News of the battle,' the heralds call, <br />'We have won the field; we have taken the town; <br />We have beaten the rebels and crushed them down.' <br />And the dying lie with the dead. <br /> <br />'Who was my bravest?' quoth the king, <br />The corn is trodden, the river runs red. <br />'Whom shall I honour for this great thing?' <br />'Threescore were best, where none were worst; <br />But Walter Wendulph was aye the first.' <br />And the dying lie with the dead. <br /> <br />'What of my husband?' quoth the bride, <br />The corn is trodden, the river runs red. <br />'Comes he to-morrow; how long will he bide?' <br />'Put off thy bridegear, busk thee in black; <br />Walter Wendulph will never come back.' <br />And the dying lie with the dead.<br /><br />Augusta Davies Webster<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/news-to-the-king-good-news-for-all/
