Classic Poem

LINES READ AT A DEBATE

What shall become of Chivalry?
The very word spells Arcady —
And visions o'er my fancy play
Of those brave knights of yesterday!
Launcelot and Bors and young Gawaine
Go tilting through the woods again,
The shadowy woods where " lutes were strung
And love-knots from the branches hung; "
Where lovely maiden in distress,
Soft shielded by her loveliness
Had but to call to any swain
To rescue her from any pain.
The modern Launcelot, half a knight,
Perchance might leave her to her plight.
While modern Bors is spelled with " e, "
There were no bores in Arcady!
And modern Gawaine, worst of all, —
Is only summoned when things pall,
And then, alas! for him — poor swain —
His name — dismembered — spells but gain!
And so, alack-a-day! Ah, me!
What shall become of Chivalry?

Fair Woman, we must turn to you —
(In any stress we always do)
The future of this gracious art,
Lies only in your subtle heart,
And would you not confess it lost,
Just pause awhile and count the cost.
Through you alone it must survive,
Man cannot keep this hope alive —
Dear Chivalry, a beggar, prays
That you should save him from disgrace,
That you should in his cause enlist,
Though Suffragette, or Suffragist. —
Forget there is a Bernard Shaw —
Or " Self-expression " — new-made law —
Forget Eugenics, put aside
The many modern fads allied,
" Sex problems " of biology,
And all the strange doxology
That rings with every ill and ism
That color Life's illusive prism.
If you would keep your old-time place
Call back the half-forgotten grace
That haloed love, and hallowed life,
And made the game seem worth the strife —
And put aside the fallacy
That one can be one's own " per se. "
One's life can never be one's own,
Too strong the grasp, too deep the groan
Of other lives that grip the soul
And stand between us and our goal;
For life is like a giant tree
That stretches up right valiantly,
But every branch must brush another,
And every tendril bind a brother!
So, would you keep fair Chivalry,
Don't crush it by your " right to be
Just your own self " — Put " Self-expression "
Away with " Cubes " and " Post-impression. "
Give heart, and soul, and love a chance,
And happiness, with song and dance
And praise and prayer and gracious things,
That lift us from the earth on wings.
Oh, Woman, give us back our right
To simple things of deep delight.
Just be a woman, if you can,
And Chivalry 'll come back to man!