The Lady's Reward

Dorothy Parker 1893 (Long Branch) – 1967 (New York City)



Lady, lady, never start
Conversation toward your heart;
Keep your pretty words serene;
Never murmur what you mean.
Show yourself, by word and look,
Swift and shallow as a brook.
Be as cool and quick to go
As a drop of April snow;
Be as delicate and gay
As a cherry flower in May.
Lady, lady, never speak
Of the tears that burn your cheek-
She will never win him, whose
Words had shown she feared to lose.
Be you wise and never sad,
You will get your lovely lad.
Never serious be, nor true,
And your wish will come to you-
And if that makes you happy, kid,
You'll be the first it ever did.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 02, 2023

35 sec read
202

Quick analysis:

Scheme AABBCCDDEEFFGGHHIIJJ
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 577
Words 118
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 20

Dorothy Parker

Dorothy Parker was an American poet, short story writer, critic and satirist, best known for her wit, wisecracks, and eye for 20th-century urban foibles. more…

All Dorothy Parker poems | Dorothy Parker Books

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