The Maid-Servant At The Inn

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



"It's queer," she said; "I see the light
  As plain as I beheld it then,
All silver-like and calm and bright-
  We've not had stars like that again!

"And she was such a gentle thing
  To birth a baby in the cold.
The barn was dark and frightening-
  This new one's better than the old.

"I mind my eyes were full of tears,
  For I was young, and quick distressed,
But she was less than me in years
  That held a son against her breast.

"I never saw a sweeter child-
  The little one, the darling one!-
I mind I told her, when he smiled
  You'd know he was his mother's son.

"It's queer that I should see them so-
  The time they came to Bethlehem
Was more than thirty years ago;
  I've prayed that all is well with them."

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 06, 2023

45 sec read
156

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABAB CDCD XEXE FGFG HIHI
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 709
Words 145
Stanzas 5
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4

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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