From A Letter From Lesbia

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



... So, praise the gods, Catullus is away!
  And let me tend you this advice, my dear:
Take any lover that you will, or may,
  Except a poet. All of them are queer.

It's just the same- a quarrel or a kiss
  Is but a tune to play upon his pipe.
He's always hymning that or wailing this;
  Myself, I much prefer the business type.

That thing he wrote, the time the sparrow died-
  (Oh, most unpleasant- gloomy, tedious words!)
I called it sweet, and made believe I cried;
  The stupid fool! I've always hated birds....

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 22, 2023

30 sec read
171

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABAB CDCD EFEF
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 513
Words 98
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4

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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