Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, DOLLS, by BERTON BRALEY


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

DOLLS, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Betty has dolls that can almost talk
Last Line: And half of the sawdust out!
Subject(s): Dolls; Girls; Play; Toys


Betty has dolls that can almost talk
And dolls that can roll their eyes
And dolls which, wound with a key, will walk
But the one that she seems to prize,
The one that she holds supremely dear
And constantly packs about
Has a broken nose, and a battered ear
And half of the sawdust out.

She keeps the others in solemn state
And plays with them more or less
But treats them all in a way sedate
And keeps them in party dress;
But the broken dolly—aren't children queer?—
She hugs to her baby breast,
The doll with the broken nose and ear
Is the one that she loves the best.

And maybe that is the reason why
A woman will fondly cling
To the sort of a man whom the world may eye
As a broken and useless thing;
She'll stick through many a hopeless year
To a weak and a wastrel lout,
With a crippled soul and a smashed career
And half of the sawdust out!





Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!


Other Poems of Interest...
Home: PoetryExplorer.net