From quainten town he privily doth hail
Yet doth his mistress wend from grete citee.
And 'midst the reek of cheap perfume and ale
A singer sangen through the smoke, pardee.
For met they then upon the midnight road
Ne here ne ther, yclepped by some cross.
And so it goes as doth that gentil ode
Where harte is yven, broken, bled, yloss.
Albeit that he wearen crimson cape,
Not half so boldely can ther no man
With knife and guile awaiten for to rape
Ne swere and lyen as a womman can.
Tho' beest thou black as hell and dark as night
I sware thee fair, for I have thought thee bright.
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This is not a serious poem, I just thought it was fun and ridiculous, don't read anything into it.
Thought I'd add some glossary notes maybe (Generally the words mean just what they sound like) :
quainten = quaint
grete citee = great city
sangen = sings
pardee = just a word, like by God or something
ne here ne ther = neither here nor there
yclepped = called
gentil = noble or genteel
harte = a pun meaning heart or prey
yven = given
yloss = lost
wearen = wears
awaiten = await
ne swere and lyen = Neither swear and lie
