Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE SERVING MAID, by ARTHUR JOSEPH MUNBY


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE SERVING MAID, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: When you go out at early morn
Last Line: And sends it home -- and speeds it home.
Subject(s): Household Employees; Servants; Domestics; Maids


When you go out at early morn,
Your busy hands, sweet drudge, are bare;
For you must work, and none are there
To see with scorn -- to feel with scorn.

And when the weekly wars begin,
Your arms are naked to the hilt,
And many a sturdy pail's a-tilt
To sheathe them in -- to plunge them in.

For you at least can understand
That daily work is hard and stern,
That those who toil for bread must learn
To bare the hand -- to spoil the hand.

But in the evening, when they dine,
And you behind each frequent chair
Are flitting lightly here and there
To bring them wine -- to pour them wine;

Oh then, from every dainty eye
That may not so be shock'd or grieved,
Your hands are hid, your arms are sleeved:
We ask not why -- we tell not why.

Ah fools! Though you for workday scours,
And they for show, unveil their charms,
Love is not bound to snowy arms,
He thinks of yours -- he speaks of yours:

To me his weighted shaft has come;
Though hand and arm are both unseen,
Your rosy wrist peeps out between
And sends it home -- and speeds it home.





Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!


Other Poems of Interest...
Home: PoetryExplorer.net