Ralph Adams Cram - Excalibur - Act III, Scene III lyrics

SCENE III. Beneath the Magic Mere. A hall of the enchanted castle. Morgan le Fay in the guise of Guenever is seated on a splendid throne. King Arthur lies at her feet, his head on her knees. Lake Girls are dancing softly in a ring about the throne.) Morgan. O thou that art the king of earthly kings, The flower of chivalry and my true love, Come from the misty land of dreams. Awake! Unclose thine eyes and look upon my face, Dost thou not know me? King Arthur. Guenever! Morgan. My king, And worshipfullest lord of all my life, I love thee. King Arthur. Say that word again! Dear God, I know not if I sleep, or by the spell Of sorcery am prisoned in a dream. Oh, let me wake no more, whiche'er it is, But lie forever in thy circling arms. I love thee, Guenever! Morgan. With all my soul, With all my body, and with all my life I do thee worship, Arthur. King Arthur. Bend thy face Close, close above me. Let me drink the wine Of pa**ion from the chalice of thy lips 'Til I am drunk with love! O Guenever, Let me but love thee while the sliding sands Tell one short hour of night, and I will die Content with life. Morgan. Not one, but endless hours Reach on before us like a golden dream. Time knocks not on the gates of Love's demesne Where I have brought thee. Very far away The world of men lies cold and desolate, Unwitting of us and of us forgot. This is the Land of Love, where I am queen; Wilt thou be king? King Arthur. Throned in thy closing arms I ask one only boon; to cast away My earthly kingship. Morgan. See, they open wide To clasp thee close. King Arthur. Oh, take me to thy heart, And let me feel thy body grow to mine Until one fierce, incarnate love is all, And life melts into d**h. Morgan. Not yet, not yet! Bethink thee of the price thou needs must pay. Wilt thou renounce thy crown for very love, Forsake the knightly quest, the shock of war, Thy royal House and England? King Arthur. On my knees I swear to cast them, Guenever, away, Nor ask them ever, for the love of thee. Morgan. Now do I know in sooth thou lov'st me well, And for thy paltry kingdom cast aside, I give thee, love, another kingdom, meet For such as thou, the Land of Living Love, Where we will lie forever, lapped in dreams And lost to all the world. King Arthur. To all the world! Farewell, my futile visions of estate, My royal crown, my swift and savage Sword; Farewell, proud Merlin, baffled of thy goal And blind with arrogance, cast down to hell The while I reign in heaven, crownèd king Of love and Guenever! Morgan. Give me thy Sword, That I may cherish it, and in the flame Of blazing j**els burning on the hilt See perfect proving of thy perfect love, For with the Sword goes England. King Arthur. Take the toy That is the badge of va**alage to man. And give me aid to cast this harness off, I need it not. (The Lake Girls remove his armour: Morgan takes Excalibur and lifts it high in the air.) Morgan. Now swear upon thy Sword, And by the faith of thy true body swear That thou wilt bear liege love and loyalty Forever unto me and to my land. King Arthur. Upon my Sword, and by the blameless faith Of this my body, Guenever, I swear I will do no disworship unto thee, But yield unending love and service. Morgan. Come! (The mist closes.)