(for Leah)

They warned me not to go to Carterhaugh—

Tam Lin was there

And he had a reputation

For using women.

But I went anyway,

And he wasn't so bad looking.

Tam Lin

Had some sort of thing going

With the Queen of Faery.

I fell off my horse, he told me;

I fell asleep;

The Queen enchanted me.

Yeah, right—at least Thomas never lied about it.

Rescue me, Tam Lin said—

Like I owed him something

For a roll in the rose-garden.

She'll turn me into an adder, he said.

Big news.

I've known a lot of snakes.

She'll turn me into a wild beast, he said;

I've known men like that, too.

She'll turn me into a flame, he said—

Like I haven't been burned before.

Sorry, I told him,

You can go to Hell—

I'm just here

To say good-bye.

I'll tell my folks you're shacked up with some queen.

. . . The kid's great

Though it's kind of hard raising him alone.

But I'm not worried.

If my knight never comes.

Hey—once you've strapped it on a few times,

You find out armor ain't so hard to wear.