Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE HEART AND THE LIVER; MUSINGS OF A DYSEPTIC, by JOHN GODFREY SAXE



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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE HEART AND THE LIVER; MUSINGS OF A DYSEPTIC, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: She's broken-hearted, I have heard
Last Line: And kindly spares the liver!
Subject(s): Hearts; Liver


I.

SHE's broken-hearted, I have heard, --
Whate'er may be the reason
(Such things will happen now and then
In Love's tempestuous season);
But still I marvel she should show
No plainer outward token,
If such a vital inward part
Were very badly broken!

II.

She's broken-hearted, I am told,
And so, of course, believe it;
When truth is fairly certified
I modestly receive it;
But after such an accident,
It surely is a blessing,
It does n't in the least impair
Her brilliant style of dressing!

III.

She's broken-hearted: who can doubt
The noisy voice of Rumor?
And yet she seems -- for such a wreck --
In no unhappy humor;
She sleeps (I hear) at proper hours,
When other folks are dozy;
Her eyes are sparkling as of yore,
And still her cheeks are rosy!

IV.

She's broken-hearted, and they say
She never can recover;
And then -- in not the mildest way --
They blame some fickle lover;
I know she's dying -- by degrees --
But, sure as I'm a sinner,
I saw her eat, the other day,
A most prodigious dinner!

V.

Alas! that I, in idle rhyme,
Should e'er profanely question
(As I have done while musing o'er
My chronic indigestion)
If one should not receive the blow
With blessings on the Giver,
That only falls upon the heart,
And kindly spares the LIVER!





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