Gossiping Neighbor by George Hughes, May 12, 1951
© 1951 SEPS. All Rights Reserved.
Old Mrs. Bates is always
Peeping through her curtain,
Peering up and down the street,
Making very certain
Of the wicked goings on
Of all of her neighbors
To and from their roisterers,
To and from their labors—
Her nose is keen for gossip
As a pointer’s for a pheasant—
And all she knows about them is
Remarkably unpleasant.
With hand before her pursed-up lips,
Whispering, she goes
From one house to another
To hint of what she knows.
Peeping through her curtain,
Peering up and down the street,
Making very certain
Of the wicked goings on
Of all of her neighbors
To and from their roisterers,
To and from their labors—
Her nose is keen for gossip
As a pointer’s for a pheasant—
And all she knows about them is
Remarkably unpleasant.
With hand before her pursed-up lips,
Whispering, she goes
From one house to another
To hint of what she knows.
God-fearing, righteous Mrs. Bates,
How she does revel in
The fact that she is living
In a world so filled with sin!
How she does revel in
The fact that she is living
In a world so filled with sin!
February 11, 1950, The Saturday Evening Post
Read More:
1 Comment
We all know Mrs. Bates. There is one in every neighborhood.