Somebody's Song

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



This is what I vow;
He shall have my heart to keep,
Sweetly will we stir and sleep,
    All the years, as now.
Swift the measured sands may run;
Love like this is never done;
He and I are welded one:
    This is what I vow.

    This is what I pray:
Keep him by me tenderly;
Keep him sweet in pride of me,
    Ever and a day;
Keep me from the old distress;
Let me, for our happiness,
Be the one to love the less:
    This is what I pray.

    This is what I know:
Lovers' oaths are thin as rain;
Love's a harbinger of pain-
    Would it were not so!
Ever is my heart a-thirst,
Ever is my love accurst;
He is neither last nor first:
    This is what I know.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 07, 2023

40 sec read
153

Quick analysis:

Scheme AbbacccA DeedfxfD GhhgiiiG
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 639
Words 134
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 8, 8, 8

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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