Coda

Dorothy Parker 1893 (Long Branch) – 1967 (New York City)



There's little in taking or giving,
  There's little in water or wine;
This living, this living, this living
  Was never a project of mine.
Oh, hard is the struggle, and sparse is
  The gain of the one at the top,
For art is a form of catharsis,
  And love is a permanent flop,
And work is the province of cattle,
  And rest's for a clam in a shell,
So I'm thinking of throwing the battle-
  Would you kindly direct me to hell?

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on May 01, 2023

26 sec read
625

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABABCDEDFGFG
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 424
Words 84
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 12

Dorothy Parker

Dorothy Parker was an American poet, short story writer, critic and satirist, best known for her wit, wisecracks, and eye for 20th-century urban foibles. more…

All Dorothy Parker poems | Dorothy Parker Books

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