ELEGY FOR AN ENEMY.
(For G. H.)
SAY, does that stupid earth Where they have laid her, Bind still her sullen mirth, Mirth which betrayed her? Do the lush grasses hold, Greenly and glad, That brittle-perfect gold She alone had?
Smugly the common crew, Over their knitting, Mourn her—as butchers do Sheep-throats they're slitting! She was my enemy, One of the best of them. Would she come back to me, God damn the rest of them!
Damn them, the flabby, fat, Sleek little darlings! We gave them tit for tat, Snarlings for snarlings! Squashy pomposities, Shocked at our violence, Let not one tactful hiss Break her new silence!
Maids of antiquity, Look well upon her; Ice was her chastity, Spotless her honor.