Your shoulders sang
For admiration,
Your hair wept for kisses,
Your voice curved softly, a caress—­
You came among us as a suppliant,
What had we you desired?

Bringing to market stolen goods,
Holding to view used charms,
Behold a hawker’s spirit!

Eagles perch proudly
In isolation,
They swoop to seize a living prey—­
Crows hover to feed,
Waiting with patience till the soul is fled
Leaving a helpless body—­carrion—­
(Vile thoughts obsess me!)

What did you want, Lolita?

Spectrum of Mrs. Q.

Fear not, beautiful lady,
That I shall ravish you! 
Your arms are languorous lilies—­
There is not a thorn
In all your slender greenness,
And you are sweet to madden buzzing bees!

Fear not, beautiful lady,
A hard, black cricket
Inspects you.

Epitaph

Courage is a sword,
Honour, but a shield... 
Here lies a turtle.

A Sixpence

OBVERSE

If I loved you,
You would rear
Eight healthy children
To our love,
(Forgetting me)
And be happy.

REVERSE

But I do not love you,
So you will write
Eight hundred poems
To our love,
(Forgetting me)
And be happy!

Three Spectra

Of Mrs. X.

You—­
Too well fed for rebellion,
Too lazy for self-respect, too timid for murder,
Disgracefully steal the trade-mark of the fairy-tale—­
“And they lived together happily
Ever after!”

Of Mrs. Z.

Madam, you are ever retreating,
But are never
Gone—­
Some day I shall pursue you
Hoping to see you
Vanish.

Of Mrs. Andsoforth.

Old ladies, bless their hearts,
Are contented as house-flies
Dozing against the wall. 
But you,
Imprisoned in the forties,
Delirious, frenzied, helpless,
Are a fly, drowning in a cocktail!

Two Commentaries

I. TO AN ACTOR

You are a gilded card-case
Which I took for a purse. 
Your spirit’s coin was squandered long ago,
And in its place
Are white cards, all alike,
Bearing a word,
A name,
Connoting nothing.

2.  Philosopher to Artist

You are a raisin, but I am a nut! 
What meat there is to you
Can be seen at a glance—­
(Seeds, when they exist, are bitter)
My calm, round glossiness,
(For I am sound and free
From wormy restlessness of spirit)
Defies your casual inspection.

It takes sharp teeth
And some determination
To taste my kernel!

A Womanly Woman