A vagabond faints
in a wayside gutter,
a ring of scarlet patches
showing through unclean skin.

A great lord spews red froth
across a bed of linen,
as his lady watches helplessly
through a veil of tears.

A skylark sings high above
a half-ploughed field
where Piers lies choking
in the fresh cut furrows.

A harlequin sprawls
grotesquely swollen,
cap and bells twisted
in a masque of death.