Symptom Recital
Dorothy Parker 1893 (Long Branch) – 1967 (New York City)
I do not like my state of mind;
I'm bitter, querulous, unkind.
I hate my legs, I hate my hands,
I do not yearn for lovelier lands.
I dread the dawn's recurrent light;
I hate to go to bed at night.
I snoot at simple, earnest folk.
I cannot take the gentlest joke.
I find no peace in paint or type.
My world is but a lot of tripe.
I'm disillusioned, empty-breasted.
For what I think, I'd be arrested.
I am not sick, I am not well.
My quondam dreams are shot to hell.
My soul is crushed, my spirit sore;
I do not like me any more.
I cavil, quarrel, grumble, grouse.
I ponder on the narrow house.
I shudder at the thought of men....
I'm due to fall in love again.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 14, 2023
- 42 sec read
- 164 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | AABBCCDDEEFFGGHHIIJJ |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 648 |
Words | 135 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 20 |
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"Symptom Recital" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/8242/symptom-recital>.
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