Wisdom

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



This I say, and this I know:
  Love has seen the last of me.
Love's a trodden lane to woe,
  Love's a path to misery.

This I know, and knew before,
  This I tell you, of my years:
Hide your heart, and lock your door.
  Hell's afloat in lovers' tears.

Give your heart, and toss and moan;
  What a pretty fool you look!
I am sage, who sit alone;
  Here's my wool, and here's my book.

Look! A lad's a-waiting there,
  Tall he is and bold, and gay.
What the devil do I care
  What I know, and what I say?

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 20, 2023

32 sec read
188

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABAB CXCX DEDE FGFG
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 493
Words 103
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 4, 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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