This I beheld, or dreamed it in a dream:
There spread a cloud of dust along a plain
And underneath the cloud, or in it, raged
A furious battle, and men yelled, and swords
Shocked upon swords and shields, a prince’s banner
Wavered, then staggered backward, hemmed by foes.
A craven hung along the battle’s edge,
And thought: “Had I a sword of keener steel—
That blue blade that the king’s son bears—but this
Blunt thing!” He snapped and flung it from his hand,