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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

BALLAD OF THE CARELESS LOVER, by                    
First Line: She once thought love
Last Line: Or a careless lover.
Alternate Author Name(s): Cypher, Angela; Hay, Elijah


She once thought love
A golden crown.
Now she wears
Like a gown,

To comfort her body
And warm her blood
Till it run swift
As a woman's should;

To deck her body
And feed her pride
Till men are eager
To walk at her side.

She once thought love
A golden crown,
And let her robe
Of pride slip down,

Bared her heart
To the cold, and cried:
"I am done with shame,
I am done with pride!"

Love is a crown
For a girl so bold
She will go naked
In bitter cold.

Love is a crown,
A golden frame
For the head of a girl
Who knows no shame.

Love is a crown
Heavy as stone
For the frightened girl
Who walks alone.

She once thought love
A crown of gold,
And bared her heart
To the biting cold.

But young men whisper
And old men peer,
Good women murmur
And hussies jeer,

Maidens shiver
And children stare
To see a woman
Whose heart is bare!

It's shame, it's wonder,
It's bitter distress,
When a woman walks
In nakedness.

She once thought love
A golden crown,
Now she wears it
Like a gown.

She has made of her love
A cloak, a cover,
Against the world
Or a careless lover.





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