Two knights rode forth at early dawn
A-seeking maids to wed,
Said one, "My lady must be fair,
With gold hair on her head."
Then spake the other knight-at-arms:
"I care not for her face,
But she I love must be a dove
For purity and grace."
And each knight blew upon his horn
And went his separate way,
And each knight found a lady-love
Before the fall of day.
But she was brown who should have had
The shining yellow hair --
I ween the knights forgot their words
Or else they ceased to care.
For he who wanted purity
Brought home a wanton wild,
And when each saw the other knight
I ween that each knight smiled.
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Comments1Just came across this poem... Please, poets should stop with the whole "knight in shining armor" cliche. Argument between two knights over their ideal lady...then at the end they ditch their standards. Just go for what they find attractive not minding what they said earlier, Typical, isn't it? "I care not for her face, but she I love must be a dove for purity and grace." Great punchline though...they ended up smiling at each other. Beware of double standards!