 | Collected poems of Thomas Hardy |  |
THE DEAD BASTARD
Many and many a time I thought,
“Would my child were in its grave!”
Such the trouble and shame it brought.
“Would my child were in its grave!”
Such the trouble and shame it brought.
Now 'tis there. And now I'd brave
Opinion's worst, in word or act,
To have that child alive; yes, slave
Opinion's worst, in word or act,
To have that child alive; yes, slave
To dress and flaunt it to attract;
Show it the gossips brazenly,
And let as nothing be the fact
That never its father married me.
Show it the gossips brazenly,
And let as nothing be the fact
That never its father married me.
| Collected poems of Thomas Hardy | |