Salome's Dancing-Lesson
Dorothy Parker 1893 (Long Branch) – 1967 (New York City)
She that begs a little boon
(Heel and toe! Heel and toe!)
Little gets- and nothing, soon.
(No, no, no! No, no, no!)
She that calls for costly things
Priceless finds her offerings-
What's impossible to kings?
(Heel and toe! Heel and toe!)
Kings are shaped as other men.
(Step and turn! Step and turn!)
Ask what none may ask again.
(Will you learn? Will you learn?)
Lovers whine, and kisses pall,
Jewels tarnish, kingdoms fall-
Death's the rarest prize of all!
(Step and turn! Step and turn!)
Veils are woven to be dropped.
(One, two, three! One, two, three!)
Aging eyes are slowest stopped.
(Quietly! Quietly!)
She whose body's young and cool
Has no need of dancing-school-
Scratch a king and find a fool!
(One, two, three! One, two, three!)
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 43 sec read
- 128 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | aBabcccB dEdexffE gHghiiiH |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 725 |
Words | 142 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8 |
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"Salome's Dancing-Lesson" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 12 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/8224/salome's-dancing-lesson>.
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