O what can ail thee, knight-at-arms,        
Alone and palely loitering?        
Tho' others frolic by the lake
And beer is outpouring?

II.

O what can ail thee, knight-at-arms!        
So laggard and so out-of-sorts?        
The tavern's barrels are quite full,        
And they're quaffing it in snorts.

III.

I see a Wilde lily on thy brow        
With anguish moist and fever dew,
And on thy "cheeks" a fading rose:        
A recently acquired tatto.        

IV.

I met a lady in her mead,        
Full beautiful—a faery's child,        
Her hair was long, her foot was light,        
And boy! was she ever wild.        

V.

She had a garland for her head,        
And bracelets too, and a fragrant zone;        
She look'd at me as we did love,        
And made sweet moan.              

VI.

She found me jars of relish sweet,              
And pickles dill, and Tullamore dew,        
And sure in language strange she said—        
"Let's get it on a time or two."        

VII.

She took me to her elfin grot,        
And since I've wept, and peed full sore,              
And the Clinic cannot cure my pox
In less than weekes four.        

VII.I

And I dream of when I might urinate,        
And not scream, tho' woe betide!        
The latest drugs they give to me
In arm, IV, and side.        

X.

And this is why I sojourn here,              
Alone and palely loitering,        
Though other frolic by the lake,        
With beer outpouring.        

          L. A. D. Unoperro, Frisky Frolicsome Poesy (Chicago:
             Frisky Frolicsome Press, 1807)