To a Lady

"To a Lady" by Dorothy Parker was originally published in The Saturday Evening Post on October 14, 1922.

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“To a Lady” by Dorothy Parker was originally published in The Saturday Evening Post on October 14, 1922.

Lady, pretty lady, delicate and sweet,
Timorous as April, frolicsome as May,

Many are the hearts that lie beneath your feet
As they go a-dancing down the sunlit way.

Lady, pretty lady, blithe as trilling birds,
Shy as early sunbeams play your sudden smile.

How you quaintly prattle lilting baby words,
Fluttering your helpless little hands the while!

Lady, pretty lady, bright your eyes and blue,
Who could be a-counting all the hearts they broke?

Not a man you meet that doesn’t fall for you;
Lady, pretty lady, how I hope you choke!

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Comments

  1. Wow. This poem is something else, with an unexpected, shocking ending. I’ve heard about Dorothy Parker for years but only recently read any of her work.

    She seems like an interesting woman to get to know, and I’m sure was very entertaining among the American elite in the post World War I era, be it here at our exclusive resorts for the rich and famous, or over in Europe at theirs.

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