Mrs. Purkapile

Edgar Lee Masters 1868 (Garnett) – 1950 (Elkins Park)



He ran away and was gone for a year.
When he came home he told me the silly story
Of being kidnapped by pirates on Lake Michigan
And kept in chains so he could not write me.
I pretended to believe it, though I knew very well
What he was doing, and that he met
The milliner, Mrs. Williams, now and then
When she went to the city to buy goods, as she said.
But a promise is a promise
And marriage is marriage,
And out of respect for my own character
I refused to be drawn into a divorce
By the scheme of a husband who had merely grown tired
Of his marital vow and duty.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

35 sec read
98

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABCBDEFGHIJKLB
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 562
Words 119
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 14

Edgar Lee Masters

Edgar Lee Masters was an American poet, biographer, and dramatist. more…

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