Classic and Contemporary Poetry
THE PAINTED LADY, by HARRY HIBBARD KEMP Poet's Biography First Line: I am sick of lust,' the painted lady said Last Line: "and I would to god that I were dead!" Subject(s): Beauty; Lust; Paintings & Painters; Women | ||||||||
I AM sick of lust," the Painted Lady said, "Of the perfumed sheets of a barren bed, Of the passion I feign tho' I feel it not, Of the outward bloom and the inward rot." The Harlot laughed a hungry laugh "Never the joys of a mother I quaff, For my love is a thing that is not of love, And bitter the wine as the lees thereof. Though the touch of my lips be heavenly sweet, Hell's dragons coil about my feet, And the seventy curses of hell I give, For I've got to live, I've got to live! I am the cowboy's passing bride, Am mistress of him who masters the tide, Am the dear delight of the workman's life Whose wages can never support a wife. I slake men's ravening desire As I burn thro' mankind as a fire Yet I stand in God's eyes censure-free For the selfsame flame consumeth me. I am the obverse face of love With marriage the other side thereof, And I and the Bride together join In the sexual mold of a single coin, For the full-leaved bulk of the marriage-tree Roots in the dung and mulch of me. ... And, maidens who boast the purest white, 'Tis I who save you from Lust's despite, 'Tis I preserve you without a flaw Till you go and lie with a man by law ... But I'm sick of LIFE," the Painted Lady said, "And I would to God that I were dead!" | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...ARISTOTLE TO PHYLLIS by JOHN HOLLANDER A WOMAN'S DELUSION by SUSAN HOWE JULIA TUTWILER STATE PRISON FOR WOMEN by ANDREW HUDGINS THE WOMEN ON CYTHAERON by ROBINSON JEFFERS TOMORROW by ANNA LETITIA BARBAULD LADIES FOR DINNER, SAIPAN by KENNETH KOCH GOODBYE TO TOLERANCE by DENISE LEVERTOV A SAILOR CHANTEY (ON BARK 'PESTALLOZI' OFF TRISTAN D'ACUNHA ISLANDS) by HARRY HIBBARD KEMP |
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