Ballade Of A Great Weariness
Dorothy Parker 1893 (Long Branch) – 1967 (New York City)
There's little to have but the things I had,
There's little to bear but the things I bore.
There's nothing to carry and naught to add,
And glory to Heaven, I paid the score.
There's little to do but I did before,
There's little to learn but the things I know;
And this is the sum of a lasting lore:
Scratch a lover, and find a foe.
And couldn't it be I was young and mad
If ever my heart on my sleeve I wore?
There's many to claw at a heart unclad,
And little the wonder it ripped and tore.
There's one that'll join in their push and roar,
With stories to jabber, and stones to throw;
He'll fetch you a lesson that costs you sore:
Scratch a lover, and find a foe.
So little I'll offer to you, my lad;
It's little in loving I set my store.
There's many a maid would be flushed and glad,
And better you'll knock at a kindlier door.
I'll dig at my lettuce, and sweep my floor,
Forever, forever I'm done with woe.
And happen I'll whistle about my chore,
"Scratch a lover, and find a foe."
L'ENVOI
Oh, beggar or prince, no more, no more!
Be off and away with your strut and show.
The sweeter the apple, the blacker the core:
Scratch a lover, and find a foe!
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:14 min read
- 117 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | abab bcbC ababbcbC ababbcbC bcbC |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,154 |
Words | 232 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 8, 8, 4 |
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"Ballade Of A Great Weariness" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 25 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/8124/ballade-of-a-great-weariness>.
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