Three sisters walk our village street, From door to door with tripping feet -- Where you meet one, you meet all three -- Inseparable, this trinity. A poisonous brew, the nostrum they sell -- "Have you heard?" and "I'll never tell!" Gossip is the name of one -- Her eyes are bright, a dagger her tongue. She looks alluring in her scarlet cowl -- When she comes close, her breath is foul. Envy, the weakling, hobbles along Clutching the skirts of her sisters, strong, -- Too lazy to climb life's golden stair, She tries to drag down those above her. Malice, the elder of the three, Is an old crone without charity -- With snagged tooth and withered claw, She picks the bone her sisters gnaw! Lock your door from this evil dread -- If you let them in they will take your bed! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...GOD'S GARDEN by RICHARD EUGENE BURTON PUTTIN' THE BABY AWAY by PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR THE REVENGE; A BALLAD OF THE FLEET by ALFRED TENNYSON THE WORLD'S DESIRE by WILLIAM ROSE BENET ON READING THAT THE REBUILDING OF YPRES APPROACHED COMPLETION by EDMUND CHARLES BLUNDEN TO AN ABSENT FRIEND by HARRY RANDOLPH BLYTHE PATIENCE AND HOPE by EDWARD GEORGE EARLE LYTTON BULWER-LYTTON |