The Whistling Girl
Dorothy Parker 1893 (Long Branch) – 1967 (New York City)
Back of my back, they talk of me,
Gabble and honk and hiss;
Let them batten, and let them be-
Me, I can sing them this:
"Better to shiver beneath the stars,
Head on a faithless breast,
Than peer at the night through rusted bars,
And share an irksome rest.
"Better to see the dawn come up,
Along of a trifling one,
Than set a steady man's cloth and cup
And pray the day be done.
"Better be left by twenty dears
Than lie in a loveless bed;
Better a loaf that's wet with tears
Than cold, unsalted bread."
Back of my back, they wag their chins,
Whinny and bleat and sigh;
But better a heart a-bloom with sins
Than hearts gone yellow and dry!
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 38 sec read
- 92 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABAB CDCD EFEF BGXG BHXH |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 646 |
Words | 128 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
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"The Whistling Girl" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 25 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/8273/the-whistling-girl>.
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