For A Lady Who Must Write Verse
Dorothy Parker 1893 (Long Branch) – 1967 (New York City)
Unto seventy years and seven,
Hide your double birthright well-
You, that are the brat of Heaven
And the pampered heir to Hell.
Let your rhymes be tinsel treasures,
Strung and seen and thrown aside.
Drill your apt and docile measures
Sternly as you drill your pride.
Show your quick, alarming skill in
Tidy mockeries of art;
Never, never dip your quill in
Ink that rushes from your heart.
When your pain must come to paper,
See it dust, before the day;
Let your night-light curl and caper,
Let it lick the words away.
Never print, poor child, a lay on
Love and tears and anguishing,
Lest a cooled, benignant Phaon
Murmur, "Silly little thing!"
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 07, 2023
- 35 sec read
- 172 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABAB CDCD EFEF GHGH XIAI |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 652 |
Words | 118 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
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"For A Lady Who Must Write Verse" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/8152/for-a-lady-who-must-write-verse>.
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