Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, A CLEVER WOMAN, by MARY ELIZABETH COLERIDGE


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

A CLEVER WOMAN, by             Poem Explanation         Poet's Biography
First Line: You thought I had the strength of men
Last Line: O evil angel, set me free!
Alternate Author Name(s): Anodos
Subject(s): Women


You thought I had the strength of men,
Because with men I dared to speak,
And courted Science now and then,
And studied Latin for a week;
But woman's woman, even when
She reads her Ethics in the Greek.

You thought me wiser than my kind;
You thought me "more than common tall;"
You thought because I had a mind,
That I could have no heart at all;
But woman's woman you will find,
Whether she be great or small.

And then you needs must die—ah, well!
I knew you not, you loved not me.
'Twas not because that darkness fell,
You saw not what there was to see.
But I that saw and could not tell—
O evil Angel, set me free!





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