SONG OF PERFECT PROPRIETY
Oh, I should like to ride the seas,
A roaring
buccaneer;
A cutlass banging at my knees,
A dirk behind my
ear.
And when my captives’ chains would clank
I’d howl with glee
and drink,
And then fling out the quivering plank
And watch the
beggars sink.
I’d like to straddle gory decks,
And dig in laden
sands,
And know the feel of throbbing necks
Between my knotted
hands.
Oh, I should like to strut and curse
Among my
blackguard crew. . . .
But I am writing little verse,
As little ladies
do.
Oh, I should like to dance and laugh
And pose and preen
and sway,
And rip the hearts of men in half,
And toss the bits
away.
I’d like to view the reeling years
Through
unastonished eyes,
And dip my finger-tips in tears,
And give my smiles
for sighs.
I’d stroll beyond the ancient bounds,
And tap at
fastened gates,
And hear the prettiest of sounds—
The clink of
shattered fates.
My slaves I’d like to bind with thongs
That cut and burn
and chill. . . .
But I am writing little songs,
As little ladies
will.
Source of the text – Dorothy Parker, The Collected Poems of Dorothy Parker. New York: The Modern Library, 1959, p. 56-57.
TJB: Arr, the same joke twice. The poet politely & with musical,
stately-homely rhythm, glorifies the lives of pirates, then other, crueler folk.
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