Page:Anthology of Magazine Verse (1921).djvu/209
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JEALOUSY
What? Did my spotted lily startle you?
Sorry—I never thought to warn. It's true
You come upon it rather suddenly
Out of that vacant, dingy hall. You see
I've lived with it and tended it so long,
I never seem to realize how strong
And harsh its colors are. In this back room
They fairly snarl and crackle through the gloon
Well, yes, a little sickish I admit.
I'll open up the window for a bit
And let a gust of lilacs in—There, now,
You watch him in the field while I tell how .
T came to find it first. . . . . .
T came to find it first. . . . . .I guess you know
How much he likes to be alone, to go
Forever wand'ring off across the hill,
Or mooning 'round the ruins of the mill,
Or somewhere, anywhere it seems to be,
So long as he can get away from me.
But once—he was just opening the door—
I felt I couldn't bear it any more!
I snatched his hat and cried, "What right have you
Always to leave me so? I'm going too!"
And went.
And went.There was a blurring kind of rain,
That soaked the world up in a slow, grey stain;
And mist like phlegm—You couldn't hear a sound
On any side, except the one the ground
Made, ogreishly sucking at our shoes.
I knew that low road was the one he'd choose
To plague me! So I led, and set a pace
Across the marsh that fairly made him race—
Although for all of road or roof or tree,
We might as well have stumbled undersea.
No wonder I stopped short and screamed out loud,
When that thing jabbed its hot fangs through the cloud
Sorry—I never thought to warn. It's true
You come upon it rather suddenly
Out of that vacant, dingy hall. You see
I've lived with it and tended it so long,
I never seem to realize how strong
And harsh its colors are. In this back room
They fairly snarl and crackle through the gloon
Well, yes, a little sickish I admit.
I'll open up the window for a bit
And let a gust of lilacs in—There, now,
You watch him in the field while I tell how .
T came to find it first. . . . . .
T came to find it first. . . . . .I guess you know
How much he likes to be alone, to go
Forever wand'ring off across the hill,
Or mooning 'round the ruins of the mill,
Or somewhere, anywhere it seems to be,
So long as he can get away from me.
But once—he was just opening the door—
I felt I couldn't bear it any more!
I snatched his hat and cried, "What right have you
Always to leave me so? I'm going too!"
And went.
And went.There was a blurring kind of rain,
That soaked the world up in a slow, grey stain;
And mist like phlegm—You couldn't hear a sound
On any side, except the one the ground
Made, ogreishly sucking at our shoes.
I knew that low road was the one he'd choose
To plague me! So I led, and set a pace
Across the marsh that fairly made him race—
Although for all of road or roof or tree,
We might as well have stumbled undersea.
No wonder I stopped short and screamed out loud,
When that thing jabbed its hot fangs through the cloud
194