Love Poem: The Hanging Tree
Elizabeth Wesley Avatar
Written by: Elizabeth Wesley

The Hanging Tree

My cup of wine was ruby red,
I ran fast to my love to see;
With a heart full of joy I said:
"How wild with love can a man be?"
The stars were laughing overhead,
And I danced with shadows merrily.

I thought, In a week we will wed,
No more lonesome lady she;
We'll lie together in a double bed,
And I will father babies three.
So dancing on the air I sped,
To her who did not wait for me.

Then I went with careful tread,
With beating heart my lass to see;
To the window where the light was shed,
Softly shining on the lea.
Then with my eyes I saw with dread,
Two shadows silouetted there to see.

Another man sat on the bed,
And she unclothed upon his knee;
She looked at my eyes filled with dread,
Then her paramour was wont to flee.
Now the floor is bloody red,
And I'm waiting for the hanging tree.