Matin Bells and Scarlet and Gold By "F. Harald Williams"[i.e. F. W. O. Ward]. First Edition |
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MAUD. |
 | Matin Bells and Scarlet and Gold |  |
541
MAUD.
Dainty delicate Maud
Would step over a puddle,
And hates like sheer poison a bother or muddle,
Though she's (I confess) a mere elegant fraud;
But in rainy bad weather,
She fears to wet leather;
You see her most carefully picking her way
Like a cat on a wall that is pointed with glass,
While the rough neighbours pass
Plump in mud and the clay,
With her Pharisee's skirt
Lifted up from the dirt.
Would step over a puddle,
And hates like sheer poison a bother or muddle,
Though she's (I confess) a mere elegant fraud;
But in rainy bad weather,
She fears to wet leather;
You see her most carefully picking her way
Like a cat on a wall that is pointed with glass,
While the rough neighbours pass
Plump in mud and the clay,
With her Pharisee's skirt
Lifted up from the dirt.
Dainty delicate Maud
Is so only in features
And form, like those monstrous and fabulous creatures
That are dragons behind, and her nature is bawd;
But if now lost and shady,
She was once a fine lady
And drove in her carriage like you in the Park,
Or (as now) drawled in icy impertinent tones
Scurvy scandal of thrones
And transgressed in the dark—
But averted her face
From stark open disgrace.
Is so only in features
And form, like those monstrous and fabulous creatures
That are dragons behind, and her nature is bawd;
But if now lost and shady,
She was once a fine lady
And drove in her carriage like you in the Park,
Or (as now) drawled in icy impertinent tones
Scurvy scandal of thrones
And transgressed in the dark—
But averted her face
From stark open disgrace.
Dainty delicate Maud
Had an eye for a jewel,
And the glimpse of a diamond served but as fuel
To thievish desires—and she still loves a gawd—
Till she stooped to low stealing,
And hurt beyond healing;
And caught she sank deeper and deeper in mire,
While she drowned in the cup the last feelings of shame
At the brand on her name
Like the burning of fire;
And hope's portal slamm'd
On her, heedless and damn'd.
Had an eye for a jewel,
And the glimpse of a diamond served but as fuel
To thievish desires—and she still loves a gawd—
Till she stooped to low stealing,
And hurt beyond healing;
And caught she sank deeper and deeper in mire,
While she drowned in the cup the last feelings of shame
At the brand on her name
Like the burning of fire;
And hope's portal slamm'd
On her, heedless and damn'd.
542
Dainty delicate Maud
With her eyes' jetty lashes,
Dreads more the wet pavement and possible splashes
Than staring dishonour, and now is not aw'd
By the fretting of evil
Like moth or the weevil;
She is clean in her person, and that is a boon,
And her frocks are in fashion and always a fit;
Like a dead silver moon,
Where as cerements sit
Pretty patterns of cloud,
And she carries her shroud.
With her eyes' jetty lashes,
Dreads more the wet pavement and possible splashes
Than staring dishonour, and now is not aw'd
By the fretting of evil
Like moth or the weevil;
She is clean in her person, and that is a boon,
And her frocks are in fashion and always a fit;
Like a dead silver moon,
Where as cerements sit
Pretty patterns of cloud,
And she carries her shroud.
| Matin Bells and Scarlet and Gold | |