Old lady sitting still Pine trees standing quite still Sisters of mercy whispering Oust the Dryad O consecration of forest To the uneventful I cannot imagine anything Less disputably respectable Than prolonged invalidism in Italy At the beck Of a British practitioner Of all permissible pastimes Attendant upon chastity The one with which you can most efficiently insult Life Is your hobby of collecting death-beds Blue Nun So wrap the body in flannel and wool Of superior quality from the Anglo-American Until that ineffable moment When Rigor Mortis Divests it of its innate impurity While round the hotel Wanton Italian matrons Discuss the better business of bed-linen To regular puncture of needles The old lady has a daughter Who has been spent In chasing moments from one room to another When the essence of an hour Was in its passing With the passionate breath Of the bronchitis-kettle And her last little lust Lost itself in a saucer of gruel But all this moribund stuff Is not wasted For there is always Nature So its expensive upkeep Goes to support The loves Of head-waiters | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...SONGS FOR MY MOTHER: 2. HER HANDS by ANNA HEMPSTEAD BRANCH FOUND WANTING by EMILY DICKINSON LAST WORDS TO A DUMB FRIEND by THOMAS HARDY A SHROPSHIRE LAD: 32 by ALFRED EDWARD HOUSMAN LA VILLE DU DETROIT by LEVI BISHOP |