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“
London Types: Barmaid
William Ernest Henley 1849 (Gloucester) – 1903 (Woking)
Though, if you ask her name, she says 'Elise,'
Being plain Elizabeth, e'en let it pass,
And own that, if her aspirates take their ease,
She ever makes a point, in washing glass,
Handling the engine, turning taps for tots,
And countering change, and scorning what men say,
Of posing as a dove among the pots,
Nor often gives her dignity away.
Her head's a work of art, and, if her eyes
Be tired and ignorant, she has a waist;
Cheaply the Mode she shadows; and she tries
From penny novels to amend her taste;
And, having mopped the zinc for certain years,
And faced the gas, she fades and disappears.
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Citation
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"London Types: Barmaid" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2021. Web. 26 Feb. 2021. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/40503/london-types:-barmaid>.