Ballade at Thirty-five
Dorothy Parker 1893 (Long Branch) – 1967 (New York City)
This, no song of an ingénue,
This, no ballad of innocence;
This, the rhyme of a lady who
Followed ever her natural bents.
This, a solo of sapience,
This, a chantey of sophistry,
This, the sum of experiments, --
I loved them until they loved me.
Decked in garments of sable hue,
Daubed with ashes of myriad Lents,
Wearing shower bouquets of rue,
Walk I ever in penitence.
Oft I roam, as my heart repents,
Through God's acre of memory,
Marking stones, in my reverence,
"I loved them until they loved me."
Pictures pass me in long review,--
Marching columns of dead events.
I was tender, and, often, true;
Ever a prey to coincidence.
Always knew I the consequence;
Always saw what the end would be.
We're as Nature has made us -- hence
I loved them until they loved me.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on May 01, 2023
- 43 sec read
- 147 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | xabaacxD bebaecaD bebaadxD |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 775 |
Words | 145 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8 |
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"Ballade at Thirty-five" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/8123/ballade-at-thirty-five>.
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