Analysis of An Improver

Lesbia Harford 1891 (Brighton) – 1927 (Australia)



Maisie's been holding down her head all day,
Her little red head. And her pointed chin
Rests on her neck that slips so softly in
The square-cut low-necked darling dress she made
In such a way, since it's high-waisted too,
It lets you guess how fair young breasts begin
Under the gentle pleasant folds of blue.
But on the roof at lunchtime when the sun
Shone warmly and the wind was blowing free
She lifted up her head to let me see
A little rosy mark beneath the chin—
The mark of kisses. If her mother knew
She'd be ashamed, but a girl-friend like me
Made her feel proud to show her kisses to.


Scheme ABBCDBDEFFBDFD
Poetic Form
Metre 111010111 0101100101 1101111100 0111110111 010111111 1111111101 1001010111 110111101 1100011101 1101011111 0101010101 0111010101 1101101111 1011110101
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 604
Words 116
Sentences 5
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 14
Lines Amount 14
Letters per line (avg) 33
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 465
Words per stanza (avg) 114
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

35 sec read
121

Lesbia Harford

Lesbia Harford was an Australian poet, novelist and political activist. more…

All Lesbia Harford poems | Lesbia Harford Books

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