Death And The Lady

Turn in, my lord, she said;
As it were the Father of Sin
I have hated the Father of the Dead,
The slayer of my kin;
By the Father of the Living led,
Turn in, my lord, turn in.

We were foes of old; thy touch was cold,
But mine is warm as life;
I have struggled and made thee loose thy hold,
I have turned aside the knife.
Despair itself in me was bold,
I have striven, and won the strife.

But that which conquered thee and rose
Again to earth descends;
For the last time we have come to blows.
And the long combat ends.
The worst and secretest of foes,
Be now my friend of friends.