Looking at a Portrait

Joseph Seamon Cotter 1861 (Louisville) – 1949



O why are there eyes like these,
That sparkle and dapple and tease,
So wide with the morning, so deep with the night,
Dancing and gleaming in passioned delight?
O why are there eyes like these?

O why are there lips like these?
Caressed by the southern breeze,
That beckon and call and hold a slave
All who therewith each soul-cry leave?
O why are there lips like these?

O why are there arms like these?
That crumple and crush as they please
A weak man's heart, and in their embrace
Bring a glow of red to a strong man's face?
O why are there arms like these?

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

33 sec read
36

Quick analysis:

Scheme AabbA AaxxA AaccA
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 564
Words 110
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 5, 5, 5

Joseph Seamon Cotter

Joseph Seamon Cotter Jr. was an American playwright, author and poet from Louisville, Kentucky most remembered for his posthumously published one-act play On The Fields of France in addition to numerous volumes of poetry. more…

All Joseph Seamon Cotter poems | Joseph Seamon Cotter Books

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